


true colours (burn those jet pack blues)

by raynos



Series: To Boldly Go (The Zootopian Way) [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, BAMF Judy, Competence Kink, Crossover, Developing Relationship, F/M, Slick Nick, foxes have potty mouths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-08-13 05:05:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7963549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raynos/pseuds/raynos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Star Trek-Zootopia crossover) Judy Hopps doesn't do diplomacy.  Nick Wilde doesn't do Away missions.  Both of them are going to have to make up for what the other lacks if they're going to survive Draconis and maybe save Captain Bogo while they're at it.</p><p>Sequel to "the map that leads to you".  Features Judy firing big guns, Nick sassing everyone and romance on a planet where reptiles are the dominant species and mammals are not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. it ain't your rainbow

Judy Hopps had made many sacrifices when she enlisted for Starfleet. She had left her home planet of Zootopia for several years, she had risked her life on Away missions constantly, and she had to wear dress uniforms at diplomatic functions.

Including this diplomatic function on Draconis. Judy wasn't suited for diplomacy - that was why she had joined Security, instead of Communications as was typical of rabbits with good ears. That diplomacy wasn't for her was especially clear to her now she was holding herself in a parade rest position, even though Starfleet hadn't been a military organisation for quite some time. The alternative was fiddling with her tight skirt and Bogo had already glared at her twice. He hadn't crossed his arms yet while asking Senator Rindja about the status of the Crurotarsi delegates, so that was a good sign.

Or maybe that was because Senator Rindja had already turned his attention to her, also drawing Captain Bogo's attention. Now more than ever it was apparent they were matched in height - komodo dragons were of a size with cape buffaloes. "I am sorry," the Senator said, and Judy tried not to stare as his forked tongue flicked out on the word "sorry". "It must be warm for you. Temperature is important for Draconians, because we are not - ah, there is no word for this in our language, nor yours. The word in Standard is warm-blooded." The default male voice set on the universal translator and the Senator's voice overlapped in a disconcerting manner on the use of the same word.

"Oh it's not a problem sir!" Judy hastened to assure, but Bogo had cut in.

"Ensign Hopps, perhaps you can check in with the perimeter guards." When Judy reached for her communicator, he clarified, "In person."

It was probably undignified to let her ears droop. But Senator Rindja probably wouldn't notice, seeing that Draconians in general didn't have ears. The closest equivalent Judy could think of was Senator Plumi's impressive crest that could shift with mood, but that was neatly tucked away now under the collar of his all white outfit.

As she left the ballroom, Judy tried to remind herself perimeter duty was where she should have been anyway, if it wasn't for her counterpart on the diplomatic team. Command had noticed that the meeting was dominated by the larger size lizards, and Senator Plumi was the largest for his species type, the basilisk lizard. Unfortunately, the Away team member in the same weight class that could be spared was Judy.

She probably ought to check in with Delgato now - that was probably what the Captain meant. She'd meant to just pass through the foyer where guests were still trickling in. There were an impressive number of mammals and reptiles milling around here, with the contrast of Starfleet's dress uniform red and the Draconian's white the most eye-catching against the greens that Draconians enjoyed in their decorations.

Judy still picked out Nick's pointed ears and relaxed grin from her vantage point at the top of the stairs leading to the ballroom. Even in dress uniform, Nick somehow looked as relaxed as he did in his favourite green button up. (Judy would never say this to his face, but she preferred the dress uniform. It did something to the line of his shoulders that made him look dashing.)

Well, the Captain had never mentioned that she should only check on one perimeter. There was a perfectly good security perimeter where the guests were being screened.

Target acquired, Judy bounded her way through the crowd, dodging larger Draconians and bounding over the smaller ones. Someone might have shouted a complaint, but she didn't understand and she didn't care right now.

Nick turned as she drew near, somehow picking up her presence. He faked a gasp. "Bogo threw you out already? Quick, what's the time now? I need to see if I can collect on my bet."

"Har har." She squinted at him. "You didn't actually bet on me, did you?"

"Your universal translator's still on, Carrots."

She tapped it off then repeated, "You didn't actually bet on me, did you? Because I can think of things with longer odds, like how you ended up on this mission."

"How else would I be able to get you any presents for your birthday? Unless you really don't mind something from the replicator, that can still be arranged. I don't bet on things that I actively try to avoid, like the plague and Claw when he's low on sugar. I'm here under duress, just like you are."

"You're just saying that so I won't get mad at you." But she was already grinning as her spirits lifted. This was why she had come here. "Sly fox."

"You know you love me." His voice was playful, but that didn't explain the tingle it gave Judy when Nick had said that right in her ear, as if he were on Comms back on the USS Integrity rather than next to her on an Away mission. Luckily for the both of them, Nick stepped away the very next moment. "However. I am a very important Comms officer doing very important Comms duty right now. And I will betcha you aren't here to help me calibrate the universal translators for the guests."

"I'm here to give the guests a non-sarcastic option in collecting their translators. I hear there's a fox with a very sharp tongue that's handling that important role right now."

"Oh you're definitely the non-sarcastic option, because the guests don't know enough Standard or Zootopian languages to pick up on your sass."

"I can totally be polite in Draconian!"

"Uh huh. You don't have the tongue for it, Fluff."

"What do tongues have to do with anything?" This was a public venue, so Nick was likely being serious instead of referring to what they did with their tongues in their free time. Maybe. Probably.

"See, languages that evolved on Draconis have a common feature - they involve tongue flicks to convey emphasis, emotion, and sometimes to convert a word to its polite form. Your tongue is too short to do a convincing flick, Carrots." Then his grin sidled to the salacious. "I've enough experience to know."

She was not going to blush in front of gathered dignitaries who wouldn't pick up on the double meaning of Nick's words. "As if your tongue is long enough."

Nick let his tongue loll out, even though it made him look like he was sticking his tongue out at her. Judy stuck out her tongue right back.

"Is everything alright?"

Although the question had been posed in Standard, Judy turned to find that they'd been addressed by S'ken Waran, Head of Security for Draconis and a Commander equivalent in Starfleet from the number of medals he had pinned on his black uniform. Judy couldn't read reptile features that well, but Waran's head tilt as he looked at them would have signalled confusion on a mammal.

And hopefully just that. Judy had flashes of trying to explain to Captain Bogo that she'd started a diplomatic incident because she'd stuck out her tongue at Wilde, sir, he did it first, sir, no she did not have the mental maturity of a 5 year old, sir, all evidence to the contrary.

While Judy was so occupied, Nick who had no sense of shame at all had already replied, "Everything's good." Then he went into a series of sibilant hisses and clicks that Judy had been told was typical of Draconian language.

Waran threw his head back such that it showed off the white of his neck, a contrast to his dominant green and yellow dotted stripes. The way he had opened his mouth read to Judy like he was laughing in response, but unlike a mammal there was no sound. When he looked back at them his voice was friendly without any hint of amusement. "They did not joke when they said you spoke our language well."

"I've had time to practise. It's been a while since Draconis began negotiations to join the Federation. Your Standard isn't shabby either."

"With luck, tonight all the hard work will pay off when Draconis' membership is formally signed. If there anything I can help with, let me know." Waran looked straight at Judy then. "That includes you, Ensign Hopps. Is there anything I can help with for the task Captain Bogo assigned you?"

Judy didn't know why the polite request had Nick scowling, but she hoped mammal expressions were just as hard for reptiles to read. She smiled, just in case it helped. "It was just a simple request really, I'm checking in with the other officers on the perimeter guard."

"Then I will go with you. Perimeter duty is important."

Judy's first hint that Nick was up to something was when his scowl cleared as if it hadn't been there at all. "Perimeter duty is oh so important," said Nick. "And while you're at it, can you pick up the guest list I've been asking for the past, hmm, hour or so?"

"Starfleet already has a guest list."

"Oh silly me, how could I have overlooked this?" He tugged his ears flat against his cheeks that pushed his contrite expression to the comic. "Only that doesn't explain why I've been hearing Gekkota all evening when they weren't invited, and no one will tell me if the Crurotarsi have sent any last minute delegates. But I'm just a dumb Zootopian who doesn't understand how much you hate the Crurotarsi, what do I know? I'll just recalibrate the universal translator to make Gekkota one of the defaults – "

Nick's spiel was cut short when Waran's tail lashed the floor hard enough to create a whip-like sound. The way Waran was staring at them made Judy categorise his current stance as pissed off. It didn't help that his tongue was flicking out more often, and that his tongue flicks were echoed by some of the nearby Draconians.

He spat an open-mouthed hiss at Nick, who merely pointed in response. Waran snapped, "Tsiny!"

A Draconian chameleon that had made himself the same shade as the drapery shifted his skin and clothing colours to a black that matched Waran's uniform. He surveyed the area that Nick had pointed out, where Judy had heard the shout she didn't understand, then opened his mouth.

Judy had expected hissing - she didn't expect a pink tongue to shoot out to ridiculous lengths. She'd barely had time to register the tongue was longer than a pangolin's before the chameleon's tongue was back in his mouth. He spat into his palm, and a shrieking reptile the size of a mouse came out covered in saliva.

Judy tucked both herself and Nick behind a pillar as black uniformed reptiles surrounded Tsiny and his captive. She whipped out her communicator. "Delgato, it's Judy. Crurotarsi spotted in the reception area. Judging from the reaction of Draconis' security, the Crurotarsi were not invited."

"We've been asking if the guest list was right all night," growled Delgato. "Are you with the Captain?"

"Negative. He sent me to check on the perimeter."

"I'll send someone else. You get back to the Captain and bring him to our Security area."

"On it." She thumbed the communicator off, and turned to Nick. "Did you spread the word?"

"Everyone's been told about the domestic dispute. Captain's not checking his comms."

"He was talking to the Senators, he wouldn't interrupt the conversation to check his comms."

"Then we'll have to bring the message to him."

The advantage of being in Security was that Judy got to keep weapons on her person, though it was a phaser instead of her preferred rifle. She powered up the phaser as she surveyed the scrum and the guests that were being ushered to the side. "Do you want to grab your phaser?"

"I'm not sure where Spots over there put it," said Nick, jerking a thumb at Waran. "I'll be more useful keeping an ear out for the Crurotarsi. It's up to you to defend my virtue, Hopps."

"Har har," said Judy, but she switched on her universal translator so she could hear which were the safe zones based on what Waran was snapping to his security. "The staircase to the ballroom has just been cleared."

They dashed back the same way Judy had come, though there were fewer reptiles to avoid now. A glance at Judy's Starfleet badge was enough to have the newly installed guards in front of the ballroom door step aside.

Once in the ballroom, Judy kept her phaser down low but at the ready. The delegates still mingled as if unaware of the commotion outside, though she supposed some of their security must have briefed them already. Captain Bogo and Senator Rindja were immediately apparent as the tallest in the room.

There was a light touch on her paw, which nearly made her bring up her phaser. The close proximity of Nick had her holding her stance.

"Stop standing as if you want to shoot up the place," he cautioned. "Walk with me, Carrots."

He angled himself so the guests they passed couldn't see Judy's phaser, even though she was keeping it at the ready. Once they got to Captain Bogo, he kept himself between Judy and Senator Rindja.

"Captain," said Judy. "We've spotted an uninvited member from the Crurotarsi faction. We suggest you come with us until we have a clearer view of the situation."

Bogo glanced at Judy's ready phaser, though his expression didn't shift. Instead he said to Senator Rindja. "It seems the Crurotarsi still have an interest in the agreement."

Rindja smiled. Judy preferred Waran's method of showing his amusement. When Rindja smiled, she wasn't sure if it was his intention to show off his teeth with their sharp edges curved back for tearing flesh. "Ah, trespassers," said Rindja through the universal translator. "We can expect no better of the Crurotarsi."

"As far as the Federation is concerned, they're welcome to sign the agreement that involves their own planet," the Captain replied. "That has been our stance for years."

"On Draconis, when you reject an invite, that choice is final. By choosing not to come, they've rejected their right to sign the agreement."

"That depends on whether they were invited in the first place. Perhaps you'd like to take this time to check with your staff on these details." Bogo looked down at Judy. "Hopps, Wilde, with me."

Judy kept her eyes averted from Rindja's smile as she and Nick followed the Captain out the back way to the ready room for the guests. Fangmeyer and McHorn were already at attention, their communicators buzzing with updates.

It was Judy that Bogo turned to. "Ensign Hopps, report."

"Wilde and I saw a Crurotarsi agent who is now with Draconian security. It's unclear if he's acting alone. Delgato recommends heading to the Starfleet Security area."

"It won't be an easy walk," Fangmeyer added. "They've found about four bombs that weren't found in earlier sweeps that could hint at more Crurotarsi. We'll have to avoid these areas."

Bogo huffed his displeasure. "We don't have time for an obstacle course. Did any Starfleet officer verify the Draconian sweeps were clean?"

"We did our own. The Draconian type of sweeps were... unconventional. Maybe a squirrel could have followed them, but we don't have any on our ship. The Draconians let us have video feeds of the other checks."

"Video can be tampered with," said Nick.

"Much as I hate to agree with Wilde, things are starting to look too convenient. Fangmeyer, find us a clear route to the Security area. McHorn, weapons."

McHorn tossed Bogo a phaser rifle, and when Judy had holstered her phaser McHorn tossed over her personal rifle too. To Nick, McHorn said, "Delgato has all the weapons originally kept with the Draconians at his Security Centre. You'll be without a weapon until we get there."

Having completed her checks on her rifle, Judy shouldered it so she could offer Nick her phaser. "Here, you can have this."

Nick simply eyed it. "I can see you work in armory, with how casually you handle a loaded gun."

"The safety's on, you big baby."

"If I admit to being a big baby will you hold my hand?"

"There are some things I cannot unhear," Bogo rumbled. "And that's regretfully one of them. If you could kindly shut up, Wilde, and take the bloody phaser."

"Don't be jealous, sir, you can hold my hand too."

"I said shut it!"

Nick winked at Judy as if it were all part of his plan, and took the phaser.

By then, Fangmeyer had finalised the route. "The corridor right in front of us is cut off, but if we take a right immediately after we'll be able to take a short cut through one of the function rooms."

"Alright team, let's move out. I'd like to get some answers before our hosts pre-process them like the appetisers served earlier."

McHorn left the room first, horn tilted down to clear any potential enemies blocking the way. Fangmeyer and Captain Bogo followed. Judy and Nick took up the rear behind the Captain - anyone coming from behind was likely to try an ambush that Judy had the speed to avoid.

Unlike the foyer, the corridor they exited to was white, with more reptiles in black uniform moving along them. They eyed the guests as they moved past. One reptile even swiveled his eye so he was still looking at them long after he passed them. Judy resisted the urge to look back, even though she felt the reptile's gaze until they ducked into the function room Fangmeyer had mentioned.

Function room might have been a misnomer. The room had been an architect's reinterpretation of a jungle in concrete and glass. In each corner of the room, a fountation gurgled.

Nick paused long enough for Judy to glance at him. "What's wrong?"

"Please tell me those fountains are decorative and aren't linked to any rivers."

"Why should they be?"

"Why should they be, of course they shouldn't be, who builds convenient doors for their enemies to come in?"

"Nick -"

The splash of water, Fangmeyer's yell and the snap of bone must all have happened at different times, but to Judy they all blended together into one awful sound. At the sound she brought up the rifle and shot with her phaser set on stun. Her shots spluttered as uselessly off the crocodile's hide as McHorn and Bogo's shots. She changed the setting -

A growl, twisted by an alien throat to boom as Judy had never heard before, filled the room. She swung her rifle towards the new threat, getting between it and Nick.

Armed crocodiles in uniforms that were any other colour but black had filed into the function room. She knew them from her briefing notes. They were part of a faction that had called themselves the Crurotarsi in their dealings with the Federation.

The largest, larger than even the crocodile that still had Fangmeyer's leg in his mouth, stepped to the front of the group. He held up his hands to show he was unarmed. "He was only acting on orders," he said in halting Standard. "If you must shoot someone, shoot me."

"I will if you don't let my officer go," said Bogo, his own rifle trained on the head crocodile.

"Don't you want to know what we want?"

"After your introduction I'm inclined to say no on principle. Let my officer go and I might reconsider."

"It will go better for you if he remains in his current position for now." The head crocodile paused, as if listening to something from his headphones. "I've been told if your officer keeps struggling, he will lose his leg. Please order him to stop."

Despite his blood flowing thick enough to mask his stripes, Fangmeyer grit out, "Leave me, Captain. Get out while you can."

"Stay still, Fangmeyer," said Bogo without a twitch out of his firing stance. "Whoever you are, hurry up with your demands before you lose your bargaining chip to blood loss."

"We'd like you to be our guest for three days."

"You should have sent me an engraved invitation a week ago."

"You will also not sign the agreement on behalf of the Federation until the three days are up."

"Why would I agree to either of those?"

"If you have no reservations about the agreement you were about to sign, you may turn around and leave. We will then respond as we see fit."

Judy kept her rifle at the ready. Her response would depend on the captain's response.

"My officers leave first, without any further injury."

The head crocodile gestured, and Fangmeyer was unceremoniously released. McHorn dropped his stance to prop Fangmeyer up and keep him off his injured leg. That left only Judy and the Captain with their rifles trained on the leader.

Then it was only Judy when Bogo lowered his rifle.

"Captain."

"Back down, Hopps."

"I don't think it's a good idea, sir."

"McHorn won't be able to defend Fangmeyer alone. Wilde, I assume your communicator would be on."

"Wouldn't dream of turning it off."

McHorn and Fangmeyer hobbled out the way they'd come. Judy held her ground.

"Hopps, that was a direct order! This isn't the transporter!"

"How you do know, sir?"

Her stance didn't waver, not even when Nick stepped closer. "It isn't," he murmured, low enough that the universal translator didn't filter his words to Standard. "You'll need five shots on the highest setting to make it stick. Walk with me, Carrots."

Judy knew her own rifle like the back of her hand. She could navigate the sixteen settings blindfolded, with the highest setting being the easiest because she just had to spin the dial all the way to the end. She had pretty good scores in markmanship, and the head crocodile was a target in clear line of sight.

But five shots would still take time, unlike yanking a part out of a transporter to disable it. The safety of both Captain Bogo and Nick depended her doing the right thing, and they'd made it clear they thought that the right thing should be retreating.

Judy backed her way out of the room, rifle still trained on the crocodile making the demands and keeping pace with Nick by her side. She was sure the mouths of crocodiles happened to be shaped that way, but the head crocodile's toothy grin still had her back up at its smugness.

She'd barely cleared the door when it slammed shut in her face, cutting off the Crurotarsi and Captain Bogo from her line of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger! Because the chapter got so large that I had to cut it in two.
> 
> Tune in next week for the second part. Our heroes won't stay down for long.


	2. the ringing in my ears gets violent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reasons, emphasis when speaking is **_bold italics_** in this chapter.
> 
> Best read in one go with chapter one, but YMMV.

In the corridor Fangmeyer's bitten leg gave way, leaving a streak of red against all the white. As McHorn checked the injury Judy re-orientated herself to cover the door and have a clear view of both ways in the corridor, just in case the Crurotarsi changed their minds despite holding Chief Bogo captive. Nick tucked himself next to Judy, his attention on a PADD he'd pulled from his bag. Judy called over her shoulder to McHorn, "How bad is it?"

"Crushed. Like that time with Delgato and the trash compactor."

"Never thought I'd end up a chew toy." Fangmeyer's voice was weak, but at least he was coherent.

Judy spared a glance behind her and saw McHorn had started on a field tourniquet. While he worked, he said, "Seems like we'll be changing your call sign, Chewie."

"Better than being called trash."

Their cackling had Nick looking up from his furious tapping on his PADD. He seemed to regret it, his fur bristling before he looked away from all the blood.

"Chewie, you feeling stable enough to move out?" Judy called back.

"I've got one better," Nick cut in. "Bogo asked if my communicator is always on. It turns out his is – "

"So we can eavesdrop on their conversations?"

"Or we can see where the Crurotarsi are taking him this very minute."

Judy's spirits lifted at the prospect of rescuing Bogo. "Pretty sneaky Slick! Let's move Fangmeyer – "

"Can't," Fangmeyer grit out. "Call it in."

"Yeah," McHorn agreed as he worked on a make-shift splint. "We'll get him medical attention and see what assistance Delgato can send."

"Seems like it's Christmas for Delgato. One starship powered trace heading his way, courtesy of Clawhauser." Nick fiddled with his PADD. "Any more surprises to leave Delgato under his tree?"

"You think he has any surprises for us?" Judy wondered.

"Let's find out. Away Comms to Security Center, I've got news - the good, the bad and the ugly. Take your pick."

"Wilde, why is Captain Bogo moving away from his escort team?"

"That's the bad. The Crurotarsi decided the Captain had too many leave days and was due for a vacation in their neck of the woods."

"That isn't the kind of vacation we or the Draconians want to send him on."

With her universal translator still on, Judy could make out Draconian ranting in the background layered with Standard. " – as if our guards didn't get snapped right in half! Your Captain – "

"Is Hopps there?" Delgato spoke over the rant.

"Present!"

"We're sending a team to intercept, but you're still the fastest. Do what you can to stall them."

"Got it." She glanced at Nick. "Five shots was it?"

"On the highest setting. Level 10? Kill?"

Judy let Nick mull over the right name, focusing on the whine of her weapon as she turned it up to its highest setting, then put the safety on. "Where to?" she asked.

Nick handed her an earpiece. "I'll walk you through it."

"Don't lead me into any walls."

"That was just the one time, Fluff!" His next words came out doubled by the ear piece. "I already have photos of you running smack into the wall anyway."

She only had time to punch him on the arm before she broke into a run, but the joke already had her calming down. This was just like any other Away mission, she could do this.

"Straight ahead," said Nick in her ear.

"And right on till morning?"

"If you're hiding any fairy dust, now's a good time to get your Tinkerbull on."

"How far ahead are they?"

"Well, the way they're moving puts Bogo in a china shop to shame. Take a right here, Carrots."

Judy ducked down the corridor. "Warn me when I'm about to catch up."

"Two more turns and you should be right on top of them."

"Literally?"

"Do you need to be?"

"Where are they headed to?"

"To the boats. Crurotarsi have a thing for water."

"I have an idea. Guide me to the docks and let Delgato know where I'm headed."

"Copy that. Another right here, Carrots."

Judy ducked her head and ran flat out. She wasn't just intercepting the Crurotarsi now - she had to be ahead of them. The white corridor, disrupted now and then by a door or a turn, stretched ahead of her.

"Straight if you still want to intercept, left to the docks."

Judy could hear the pounding of feet in the T junction ahead, and the weight behind the footfalls. She thought about vantage points for firing down the T junction and the narrowing distance. She thought about Crurotarsi jaws and Fangmeyer's crunched leg.

She took the left and the white corridor gave way to brilliant sunlight.

Along the wooden dock lay subdued guards, Starfleet and Draconian. "At the docks. No visible Crurotarsi. Going radio silent now."

"Got it. Stay lucky, rabbit."

Words that would have annoyed her in the past were what she held on to as she vaulted off one of the pier's posts to land directly in a boat. Without time to read up on Draconian boat designs, she adjusted her rifle settings and fired at anything that looked like it might house a motor or electronic controls. One of her targets sent up sparks.

Her warning came in the form of dual thuds. The boat listed and she saw a snout peek over the railing, before slit eyes above a flat snout peered at her.

She didn't linger, hopping to the highest point of the boat and using the Crurotarsi's attempt to capsize it to catapult herself to the next boat. Maybe she could rely on them to help her sabotage the boats.

Or not. One of the Crurotarsi guards had opted to clamber onto the boat now, slinking with belly low to the curved base. Judy knew to watch out for the snapping jaws. It was pure instinct that had her flattening herself to the bottom of the boat when she saw his tail lash towards her.

Unfortunately that left her on her back clutching her rifle as the Cruotarsi reared over her, drawing back up to an upright position. She didn't think she could leap out of its way without risking its jaws.

So she rammed her rifle settings to maximum and held her trigger down for five shots in succession.

She didn't see anything happen until the fifth shot, when the beam finally spilt the skin stretched across the guard's thigh. She didn't stop to see the full aftermath, choosing to use the opening to jump out of the boat.

Judy had used up her buffer. She saw Captain Bogo with the Crurotarsi, heading for the boat furthest away from the commotion she was causing. Bogo was unharmed, although his rifle was nowhere in sight and one of the Crurotarsi had a clawed hand on his shoulder. The head crocodile stood head and shoulders above them all, an opening for a lethal shot.

She could do it. Her rifle was on a setting that worked. Phaser rifle shots didn't lose power with distance.

But phasers were always set to stun on Away missions.

She slid the rifle back to the right setting for blowing up electronics and fired at the boat the Crurotarsi were headed to. A grenade would be good right about now, but beggars in dress uniform couldn't be choosers. Besides, her firing was more accurate after the first boat she wrecked. This time, she hit the same thing that sent up sparks on the first boat.

Unfortunately that got the Crurotarsi's attention. They turned their guns on her. Bogo's escort might have done the same, if Bogo hadn't rammed his shoulder against the escort. "Hopps, behind you!" He bellowed, keeping his escort's gun directed down.

Judy turned to see a Crurotarsi guard with his own gun aimed at her. She darted into another empty boat. Holes from metal bullets appeared in the side of the boat that let water trickle in. Well, at least they couldn't get away in this boat either. That almost made up for being outgunned.

She touched her earpiece. "Nick."

"Not sure you can look now, but you've got incoming friendlies."

She looked anyway, and managed to see the red of Starfleet uniforms before a new hail of bullets had her ducking again.

" – Don't get too trigger happy on them," Nick was saying.

That made her scoff. "As if! My aim is better than that." She started looking for better cover in the boat, somewhere thick enough that would give her more cover so she could fire without having to worry about being shot full of holes in return.

"That's not what Wolford said."

"Wolford needs to remember Sharla and I share a room before he opens his big mouth." From what she had been firing at in the first boat, she had a few ideas. She positioned herself now. "You think you could let the team know I'm shooting from a boat so I'm not the target of friendly fire?"

"On it. Hop to it, Hopps."

She popped her head up and fired as soon as she saw the Crurotarsi. Bullets thudded into the side of her boat, but she'd chosen her cover well. All she had to do was make sure no one shot her in the head.

Thanks to Nick none of the phaser fire was heading her way. She didn't like what she was seeing. The Crurotarsi had taken up firing positions that left lethal headshots as the only possible means of attack, including the guard that seemed to have made it his personal mission to take Judy out from a distance. From his cover on the docks, he shot more holes in the boat.

Water starting gushing in instead of trickling. She could switch her cover, but the guard probably wouldn't let her get to it. "Nick, what's Bogo's status?"

"Last I heard he was making a run for it. That's a lot more talking and a lot less fighting than I expected from you, Carrots."

"I'm kind of pinned down at the moment."

Nick faked a gasp. "No one puts bunny in a corner!"

She snorted. Nick, flippant until the last. "It's a tighter corner than I'm used to." Water was lapping at her heels. "A little wetter too. Can you swim?"

"I wouldn't advise swimming with alien crocodiles, Carrots."

"Nick. Can you swim?"

"Can I swim? Yes I can swim. Did you miss that class in Academy? You're going to have to wait until you get back to get some pointers."

"Yes, when I get back." Her jacket sleeve was getting wet, and not from scrubbing at her face. "When I get back, let's find a proper beach and go swimming."

There was a long enough pause that Judy thought the water had killed the connection. Then Nick was saying without a change in his tone, "I don't think that suggestion is good enough, Carrots. You didn't mention you wearing a bikini anywhere."

She was smiling. She was smiling and wasn't that why she made the call in the first place? "Sorry to disappoint, I don't own a bikini."

"Not an excuse. Did you know, Fluff, that the replicator does clothes too?"

Her laugh at the idea of Nick programming the replicator to make a bikini in her size was interrupted by the roar of a motor. Judy dared a peek and spotted Bogo and the head crocodile in a boat rapidly travelling down the river. Only Bogo was looking back - the head crocodile didn't even seem to care that the rest of the Crurotarsi were still on the dock, holding the Starfleet officers at bay.

Despite being in a sinking boat, Judy was still the closest. She repositioned herself and started firing after the boat.

Thuds against the bottom of her boat ruined her aim. She glanced over the side to find that the Crurotarsi had taken to the water, swimming away from the Starfleet officers that they'd pinned down earlier. Now and then one of them swam into the side of Judy's boat, as if to dissuade her from firing more shots.

Then her boat stopped rocking and the surface of the river was completely smooth again. There was no firing of any kind, whether from phasers or other types of guns.

Judy hopped back onto the dock, her dress uniform pattering water all over the wood. Bogo was out of range, and the Crurotarsi had sunk out of sight in the river.

She held a hand up to her ear piece and called it in. "Nick, they're gone."

 

The one good thing from the fight was that Judy had an excuse to change out of her now soaked dress uniform. She felt a little better about facing the interview panel in her usual uniform.

It was Nick's turn to look less comfortable now, with his dress uniform collar unbuttoned and tugged askew. Maybe he was just annoyed at being on the same panel as Commander Higgins, S'ken Waran and Tsiny. Comms officers weren't strictly needed for interviews, except for interviews conducted via universal translators. Judy was less certain about why Tsiny was here.

"So there was a time lapse between the Crurotarsi holding your officer hostage, and the Captain's attempt at the dock to escape," said Tsiny through the translator. He was now visible due to the yellow of his skin and clothes, as compared to the greens he had adopted earlier. "Why didn't he break free during this time?"

Maybe the real reason Comms officers had to be on hand was because translators alone were unable to pick up the accusation in that question. Judy struggled to stay polite when she replied, "I don't know what Captain Bogo was thinking. What I do know was that I chose to engage them on the docks because there was no cover in the corridors."

"Yet he wasn't able to escape despite the advantage that the docks provided. And now you are telling me your transporter cannot pick him up."

"We're interviewing Hopps now," Higgins grumbled.

"But that is a fact?"

"The Captain's comm signal disappeared over the river," Higgins replied, as if by rote.

"The river has always been kind to the Crurotarsi," said Waran.

Tsiny swivelled one eye to focus on Higgins, while keeping the other on Judy. "It seems to me that your Captain was counting on that. Maybe your Captain is a belly crawler after all."

"Tsiny!" Waran barked.

"We didn't measure their legs when they came down, did we? How do we know they are worthy of dealing with Squamata like us?"

"Since we're all speaking out of turn here, how about some mammal biology 101?" Nick piped up, not caring that the universal translator didn't pick up his tone. Or maybe he was counting on it. "See I couldn't help but notice this is a more natural position for Draconian limbs." He pressed his hand against the table with his arms crooked. "While mammals walk like this." He straightened his arm and locked his elbow. "Point is, you're already going to be measuring wrong. We aren't belly crawlers by your standards."

Both of Tsiny's eyes twitched down to glare holes in the paper in front of him. If Judy were to hazard a guess, she'd think he was sulking. Waran didn't seem to care, starting on his questions as if Tsiny was done with his.

"Ensign Hopps, I understand you saw the Crurotarsi that took Captain Bogo away. Do you think you could identify the leader?"

"I probably could if I saw him. I- I'm afraid I'm not very good with Draconian features."

"They don't deserve to be Draconians," Tsiny said.

"Ignore my colleague. Ensign Hopps?"

"Well, the head crocodile was the tallest of the Cruotarsi, taller than the Captain even. I'll put him at about four metres, maybe six including the tail."

Nick supplied the measurements in the local equivalent, turning off his translator so he could hiss and click at the Draconians in their language.

"That narrows it down," Waran noted. "Only a few of the Crurotarsi have reached that age and authority. Continue, Ensign Hopps."

"He was wearing a pair of grey headphones. I think he was using that to communicate with his men, because he seemed to have received an update on our injured colleague through that. There was a thick gold chain on his uniform, which was green."

"It's Vector."

"Vicious Vector," said Tsiny.

Judy had read about Vector in the briefing notes, but she hadn't matched the picture of the terrorist with the crocodile she had seen. How did Draconians tell each other apart?

"Now we know who took your Captain, we can start identifying the locations that he might be in. My officers – "

"We can discuss the search when we're done with Hopps' interview," Higgins cut in.

"Why waste time? We should start immediately."

"We should, but we will not start the search until we receive the list of Crurotarsi locations that Captain Bogo might be held in."

"Your men would not even know where to begin in narrowing the locations – "

"We might not know the Crurotarsi, but we can map locations! We can focus our search for Captain Bogo's signal, which is Starfleet technology best searched for by Starfleet officers who know how it works."

Waran whipped his tail to crack against the floor, an echo of what he'd done when the first Crurotarsi agent was found. "Beyond technology, my officers – "

The wall of the interview room exploded.

Judy dove for the only cover in the room, the table. Most of her interviewers had done the same, and Higgins' bulk left Judy shoved up against Nick. Only Waran had headed towards the bomb, dropping to all fours to move faster. His belly definitely didn't touch the floor.

Judy kept an ear out for more explosions, though Nick's quickened breathing was a tad distracting.

"Just like that time in the closet," he quipped.

"Wilde, stop ruining closets for everyone else," Higgins groaned.

"This is a table," said Tsiny, unconcerned about being crammed in with a bunch of crazy Zootopians.

"Yes. Doesn't Draconis have similar traditions as Zootopia involving tight spaces and – "

Judy clamped Nick's mouth shut between her paws. "I think it's clear, but I can't be sure unless you **_stop talking_**."

Everyone shut up. Judy listened, but other than running footsteps and murmured conversation everything else seemed to be fine. "Everything seems calm. I'm not sure if there are more bombs."

"Yes, Draconian security assured us there were no more." Higgins glared at Tsiny, who was wriggling out from the crush of Zootopians under the table.

Tsiny stood and dusted himself off before saying, "Accidents happen when defusing bombs."

Higgins too clambered out. "Starfleet will discuss this **_in detail_** after we get back to our Security Centre," he said as stiffly as he had removed himself from cover, before heading off. Judy leapt to follow, Nick a beat slower because Tsiny had tossed his universal translator at Nick, along with a few words in Draconian.

But Nick didn't catch up by the time Judy and Higgins stepped out of the room. Judy wondered if she should call Higgins back, but the stiff, annoyed posture of Higgins dissuaded her. Higgins could take care of himself. She was less certain about Nick, who hadn't drawn the phaser she'd lent him even once in all this time. He'd passed Academy, but so had a number of officers that had personal hang ups over weapons.

The interview room was empty of Zootopians, though there was Draconian security examining the blast site. Maybe one of them had left the other door ajar; maybe it had been Nick.

Hurrying past the exploded wall, she went through that door and found herself in one of the corridors Nick had guided her through earlier. On a hunch she tried the docks. The docks had been cleared of fallen guards, but it would take longer to clear the sunken boats, phaser marks and bullet holes. Nick was standing by the edge, looking down at the rushing river. As he had in the busy foyer earlier, he turned as she drew nearer.

"I don't know how you stand Away missions, Hopps. I wasn't expecting them to bring down the house literally."

His translator was off, so Judy tapped hers off too. "We only lost a wall."

"I generally like my houses with all four walls, a roof, maybe a white picket fence."

She elbowed him, chuckling. "C'mon, we can discuss dream houses when Higgins isn't freaking out over where we are."

"We're probably the least of Higgins' worries."

The way Nick was holding himself reminded Judy of the way he'd paused before Fangmeyer had his leg crunched. "What's wrong?" She took his arm, intending to guide him away from the river and any lurking Crurotarsi. He placed his paw over hers but didn't budge.

"You almost died twice and you still don't see what's wrong?"

"We can talk about what's wrong somewhere safer – "

"Safer isn't back that way, Carrots."

"For someone who was warning me about water earlier you're standing awfully near it."

"Right now I'd rather take my chances with an alien crocodile than with the Draconians in there."

The idea of Nick bloodied and injured left a sour taste in Judy's mouth as she said, "After Fangmeyer, I don't see how you can joke - "

"Tsiny's Draconian Secret Service, and he just happened to be lurking nearby when Starfleet were screening guests. They accused the Captain of being one of their enemies. Waran ran towards the bomb instead of away. And you want to go back in there."

"Where else is there to go? Are you going to call in a favour from Finnick and get yourself transported back to the Integrity?" She dropped her paw from his arm. There were times when she forgot Nick didn't do Away missions. The ship was where he belonged.

"Do you want that? I hope you remembered the carrot communicator, that would make it easier -"

"I can't just abandon my post!"

She only realised that she'd rejected his helping paw in the worst way when his expression went cold. "But I could, huh? Is that how you've been seeing me all along, Hopps? Were you just waiting for me to quit and run?"

"Nick, stop it. You're not like that."

"Aren't I? You're right, I wasn't planning on going back in there. I was planning on **_abandoning my post_**."

"Look, you're right and there's a lot of problems with the Draconians. But if we just go in and tell Starfleet – "

"Tell Starfleet what? What we've been saying for months? Telling them that we're not sure half of Draconis will be represented at the signing of their planet's agreement, but being told to go ahead anyway? Starfleet knows, and they put us here, right smack in the crossfire. Literally, in your case." He made a sweeping gesture at the phaser marks and bullet holes.

"Captain Bogo thought it was worth entering the fray in the first place."

"That's why he won himself a stay at Casa de Vector. Wherever that is."

"We're trying to get a list of locations – "

"Replace 'trying' with 'failing' and you'd have summed it up."

" – but what were you planning to do instead?"

"Oh, nothing that you'd want to do." Nick's tone was flippant, but the way his eyes were hooded showed he was still on his guard. "I was planning on making a quick trip to call in a few favours, find someone local who might give us a real list of Vector's locations."

"A quick trip, was it? Would it still be as quick with two?"

"It was fine the last time I went with Finnick."

"Do you think we have time to gear up?"

"We? Does the widdle bunny want to go on a field trip?"

"We," Judy insisted. His sarcasm got to her, but she could grin and bear it. "Fangmeyer was on my team, but now that he's injured I'm waiting to be reassigned. As long as I stay planet-side and get back before my reassignment, I should be able to go with you."

"Do you even know where we're going?"

"I've run into fights with no clue of what I'm getting into except for your voice in my ear. It's no different from what we already do on Away missions."

Nick's smirk reminded Judy of a plastic knife – brittle but surprisingly sharp if it was held the right way or snapped. "After you get your gear, we come back here for a boat. I hope you do actually know how to swim, Fluff."

"Why's that?"

"To show our goodwill when visiting the Crurotarsi, we go by water."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POV shift next chapter - Nick gets to weigh in.


	3. the sweetness never lasts you know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draconian dialects are in _italics_. Emphasis is in **_bold italics_**.
> 
> I realised that I should have done this earlier - I apologise if anyone does not like reptiles: crocodiles, snakes and/or lizards of any sort. It will only get worse as we go along.

Despite all Nick had said, Judy had still come along.

He knew she didn't like what they were doing from the way her eyes narrowed every time she glanced his way, but she had gone to get her rifle, their personal phasers along with a ridiculous number of energy packs and grenades without comment. He half expected her to dump the gear in their chosen boat and watch him sail off alone down the river. Instead she'd jumped in and waited for him to start the engine, not saying a word the entire time.

Not that Nick had the right words for her, not when they were this close. Distance could make him forget that in the space of a day she'd nearly died on him twice. Distance could let him ignore that she thought he could abandon his post. He craved for the luxury of a remote comms line.

But he didn't even have that reprieve. Instead of his station on the starship, the console under his paws was to operate a boat that had taken a furtive call to Finnick to get up and running. His own Comms gear was down to a PADD, his personal microphone and a handful of universal translators.

If it had been just Nick alone, he would have been fine relying on nothing but his wits and his words. He wasn't sure that would be enough for Judy. He wasn't confident of how far he could push his favours when he wasn't even able to read just one rabbit that kept defying his expectations.

Night had fallen on Draconis, the quiet lap of the river against the boat overlapped with the cacophony of insects announcing their presence. He wondered if any of the Draconians still hunted wild insects, or if it was as commercialised as Bug-a-burgers were in Zootopia.

Thinking of burgers reminded him of the field rations he'd packed but Judy hadn't. He dug in his bag and held out a ration to Judy.

She glared at the ration then at him. "You said it was a quick trip."

"It is a quick trip, compared to the 80 days to get around the planet."

She almost took off his paw with how violently she'd swiped the ration. "You are nothing but trouble."

"You knew I was trouble when I walked in," he quoted one of the terrible songs she'd defiled his sound system with. Keep it light and easy Wilde. Maybe disaster could still be averted, if Judy was having second thoughts. "Well, it might not be entirely planetside all throughout, but I'm sure Finnick could beam you back to the Security Centre right away if the sweet little rabbit just said pretty please."

"Why don't we just use the transporter to get to wherever we're going?"

"Would you like someone to beam straight into your living room? No you would not. Besides, Tsiny thought the Captain was a belly crawler just because he didn't make his great escape. The fewer Starfleet resources are involved in this field trip, the better it will go."

"You've been to Draconis before, haven't you?"

"Does it count if Starfleet ignored my 2 out of 5 stars, do not stay here review?" Maybe even his words were failing him, if both Starfleet and Judy had chosen to be here. No time for that now Wilde, there had to be an angle here he could use. "One star docked for being terrible hosts, another for having a language that frankly gets rather insulting if you aren't tall enough or don't walk right, and the last for their tendency to bite once diplomatic immunity goes out of the window."

There, there was that little flinch every time he mentioned the Draconians and their teeth to Judy. Nick plucked a protein ration out of his bag, even though he'd never really cared for bugs. Setting the boat on auto-pilot, he dropped down next to Judy and tore the packet open to pluck a bug out. "See, most Draconians are predators," Nick said, before crunching the bug. Having previously served on a mostly predator ship had its benefits. Nick channeled a bit of Raymond and his habit of showing teeth as he chewed. Judy's eyes flicked to his flash of fang. Good. "And a number of them are venomous. Case in point: Senator Rindja. S'ken Waran." He crunched another bug. "One bite from their kind would send you straight to the hospital. And here we are, running around without diplomatic immunity."

He let Judy mull over the last bit. Judy was smart and could draw her own conclusions. It would also make her more likely to hold on to her beliefs, since she'd come up with them on her own.

She smiled at him, the first smile he had seen out of her for a while. "You and your hang-ups over teeth."

While he was puzzling over the warm exasperation in her tone she tilted his muzzle down to a better angle and kissed him. Never mind his sharp teeth, never mind that he'd just been eating bugs. The opposite in fact – she seemed intent on dwelling on these, touching her tongue to the sharp points of his teeth before slipping her tongue into his mouth. Whatever shortcomings her tongue had with polite forms in Draconian were completely absent in her kissing.

When Nick had his mouth back again, he said, "I thought you were mad at me." Apparently he'd forgot to pack his sense of self-preservation for this Away mission.

"Right back at you." She leaned her forehead against his. "But the last time you showed that much fang was when you were convinced I was going to cut myself on your teeth. I thought I'd remind you we already had this discussion. Dumb fox."

"Sly bunny. You were just looking for an excuse to kiss me. I'd give it an 8 out of 10, but I think the taste of bugs might have docked a few points for you."

"Honestly? I'm more upset over your attempt to brush me off." Her other paw came up such that she was cupping his face between her paws. "If you think we can get the actual locations of Vector from your contact and get back without bodily harm, then that's what we'll do. Even if it's taking a ridiculously long time."

He wanted to believe in her words, but part of him had been set off-kilter since the confrontation at the pier. They were becoming textbook examples of why there was an unwritten rule Comms should never get attached to Away teams, both emotionally and literally, and neither of them were fighting hard to stop that.

That thought turned the sweetness of her words to ash in his mouth, made him shoot back, "Even if it means abandoning our posts."

She sighed, and drew away to give him the distance he needed. "I was small-minded. If we can do good out here, if this helps us rescue Captain Bogo, why shouldn't we try your way?"

"I wasn't kidding about the venom and potential bodily harm, Hopps. Even my contact packs quite the bite."

"How'd you get to know your contact?"

"For pretty much the same reason why the Federation wants Draconis to join: technology. Did you know Draconis has the best hands free technology? Finnick needed a few doodads, they had the goods, we just happened to be in orbit so we popped by."

"I don't know how your Captain agreed to that."

"Captain Big runs a very different ship from Captain Bogo." Nick leaned back to look up at the stars, visible away from the harsh lights of the Draconis capital. "If there's anything I learned from Captain Big, I learned that whatever the official channels lack in usefulness they make up for in safety. My contact is just a business partner. Once politics comes into things, there might be more benefits to stabbing us in the back."

"I think it's worth a try. If I wanted safer, I'd be back on a carrot farm in Zootopia. Quit using safety as an excuse."

"It's not an excuse. You owe me favours for the rest of your life, Fluff, so I have a vested interest in making sure that lasts as long as possible."

Nick had meant it as a smart comeback. But Judy read something in his tone that made her lean over and press her mouth to his in one of those sweet chaste kisses she was so fond of. He wanted to be mad at her, but she was making it hard.

Despite his worry, despite the dangers of getting attached, Nick kissed back under the stars in an alien sky.

 

When the shoreline had shifted from trees to rocks, the sun was just peeking over the horizon. Judy had pulled out her communicator, staring at the carrot casing as if she expected Higgins' voice to burst out the speaker at any moment.

"If Higgins hasn't called to give you an earful, that's a blessing you shouldn't look so worried about."

"I'm not used to missing check in when I'm not in any trouble."

"Integrity to Ensign Hopps, what's your status?"

"Ensign Hopps, right next to you." She punched him in the arm. "But you already knew that."

"Ow, I definitely know that now." He rubbed his sore arm. "We're coming up on the Serpentus settlement now. Seeing that you don't know any Draconian dialects, you might want to turn on your universal translator."

"Serpentus? That's another faction under the Crurotarsi, isn't it?"

"They have no love for their fellow Draconians. You'll see why."

They found another dock, stone this time. Nick spotted a pair of yellow eyes peer out at them from one of the stone posts before sliding out of view. So they'd passed the first check. Next up – see if Ilysia was up to entering visitors.

When Nick had first come to the Serpentus settlement, he'd thought that the rocky formations were natural. Now that he knew to look for it, he could see how the edges of the formation were aligned as much as the natural shape of the stone would allow. The spaces between formations were also uniform, forming paths for animals and vehicles alike.

Judy followed him down a path between the rocky houses. Her feet were touching the ground fully, not on tip toe if she were truly alarmed. That and the relaxed way she held her rifle in her paw meant she hadn't spotted any danger at the moment, though she was ready for it.

With that assurance, Nick focused on looking at house numbers. Rocks all looked the same to him, so numbers it had to be. If he was reading his numbers right, Ilysia's place should be this way, on the edge of the settlement.

When he found the symbol that looked like the right number, Nick tapped on the stone it was painted on. Then he took hold of Judy's arms and guided her some distance away.

"What's with the distance?" She said, the universal translator doubling he words.

"My contact isn't small, so we need to give her some space. Did someone forget to read the mission brief?"

"Otterton told me about insular gigantism since they don't have mammals here. But how large can they -?"

Judy trailed off in mid-sentence. Nick turned to see Ilysia had poked her head out of an entrance hole, tongue tasting the air. From her snort, Nick guessed she had spotted him but preferred to ignore him for now. Maybe she was still warming up from sleep with the sluggish way she was slithering from her house and the warmer she was still wearing. Sure enough, Ilysia headed up to the sun roof.

Better to deal with Judy, whose jaw was slack with shock. Leaning down to speak right in her ear, he said, "Hopps, meet Ilysia."

Beneath the bland response of the translator's voice, Judy's actual whisper was frantic. "You didn't say your contact was a giant rattlesnake!"

"See, Standard says 'giant rattlesnake', but is that really the right description for an alien species - "

"She's a legless Draconian!"

"Yes, the poster child for the term belly crawler. Why else did you think they really wanted to develop hands free technology?" Ilysia's tongue was flicking out more rapidly now, so it might be the right time to talk to her. "Ilysia! Looking shiny as ever. Listen, I know early morning doesn't show off those scales in the best light - "

"Wilde. You _sand-nosed egg sucker_." Ilysia had lapsed into Draconian as soon as she started on the insults. " _What did I say about visiting in summer?_ "

Ilysia knew enough Standard that Nick could reply in Standard without the aid of his translator. "I had no idea it was summer, you know how it is on starships that can't even decide when day and night is. Don't blame me, blame Starfleet."

" _Pheromone fakers. It serves them right for listening to the Squamata on the agreement._ "

" _That's cold._ " For Judy's benefit Nick switched back to Standard so she didn't have to rely on the translator that much. "Look, I'd rather not talk about the agreement under the sun, so if the Starfleet officers could go inside - "

Ilysia's rattle came up. "No."

"C'mon, we've known each other for years now, surely old friends can meet the fam."

"No."

"Then how about we catch up over a nice drink somewhere else -"

" ** _No._** " Ilysia's rattle shivered into sound, a low buzz that set the teeth on edge.

"Ok ok, no leaving the house. You always knew to drive a hard bargain, Ilysia. So what do you want?"

Ilysia slid off the roof in a clatter of coils. Within moments she was nose to nose with Nick. "Why don't you - "

The tip of a phaser rifle pressed against her bottom jaw. Judy wasn't braced for a proper shot, but the steel in her gaze showed she had no qualms in pulling the trigger if she had to. "Why don't you back off and stay out of biting distance?"

"Carrots," Nick whispered out of the side of his mouth. He'd been so focused on Ilysia that he hadn't realised what it must look like to see a snake coming straight at him.

"A bodyguard? With your rank?" Ilysia wondered.

"Ladies, let's all back off a bit, I know I'm good looking but there's really no need to fight. Introductions? Introductions. Maybe not at gun point, Fluff." He placed a paw on her rifle barrel. When all she did was frown he dared to push her gun down, just as he had in the ballroom. She let him walk her a little distance away, let him put an arm around her shoulders. "Ilysia, meet Judy Hopps. She's with me, and not as a bodyguard."

He couldn't be more specific than that for now. Judy and he were outside, between houses with enough crevices that acted as eyes and ears for the inhabitants. They'd lost the advantage of anonymity by declaring their names out in the open, on top of turning up in their Starfleet uniforms. Their best defence now was to use their affiliation to show they were outsiders, to pretend that they were professionals.

Ilysia would be a tougher audience, especially if Nick was right about the significance of summer. Right now she was staring at Nick and Judy leaning against enough other. Maybe Nick shouldn't have pulled Judy close, what if it wasn't the right image to communicate?

Ilysia finally jerked her head sharply to the right. "Parking lot."

She had meant garage, but they got enough of her meaning to follow her around her house. The three of them ducked into a lean to of metal, where the sole vehicle was covered by an additional tarp. The only other furniture was a table with scattered tools on it. Wooden crates filled up the rest of the space.

Nick propped one elbow on the table and leaned against it. Judy, due to her height, rested her shoulders against the table edge, with her rifle dangling from a deceptively loose grip. At the garage door, Ilysia had settled in a relaxed coil around herself.

"Did you upgrade your skimmer? It looks larger – "

"Cut crap. What Starfleet officers want in summer? _Especially when you've had a grand celebration leading up to signing the Federation's sham of a document with the Squamata._ "

"That's the thing. _Since we go way back, I'll give you this one for free. The agreement should have been signed last night, but it was cancelled._ "

" _Pheromone fakers, the whole lot of them. What happened?_ "

" _That's what brought us here._ Our Captain was escorted away by the Crurotarsi before he could sign the agreement."

"Have enough mouths at home already without adding Starfleet captain." Ilysia's sarcasm could have seared a hole in a starship hull.

"As low maintenance as Captain Bogo might be, we're here because we think you could help us find who took him."

"Why should I?"

"C'mon Ilysia. _You didn't teach your children Standard just because the Federation exists. You wanted them to have the best chance at any opportunity Draconis would have upon joining the Federation. Including your latest this summer. How many are there now?_ "

"None of your business. Why don't both of you take your fangs out of the house?"

"Ilysia," said Judy, with a gentleness that didn't translate into Draconian, even with the universal translator. "We mean your family no harm."

" _What's that Draconian saying? Keep your teeth sheathed but sharp in foreign territory? No offence to you, but we're nervy after our Captain got nabbed. If you want us to leave, we will. After you give us information that will help us as much as it would help you and your own._ "

Ilysia buzzed her discomfort with her rattle, but it was thankfully brief. "What do you want?"

"We need your help to find out where Vector is now."

"Ha!" Ilysia's mouth yawned open in amusement, fangs still held back. "That one is easy, no need for maps even. Word from Vector is he'll talk to anyone who can bring him a copy of the agreement Starfleet was planning to sign with the Squamata."

"That so? Is Vector turning up at a drop point, or is there a standing invitation to one of his bases?"

"Hst. If I remember place right, Vector has many operations there."

"Excellent." Nick was already running through what he remembered from the agreement from double-checking the translation. "So we can see which is more important to him, Bogo or the agreement. If we try for an exchange -"

"Ilysia, I need a moment to talk to Wilde." Judy turned so her back was to Ilysia, so she couldn't see what she was saying to Nick as he and Judy stood shoulder to shoulder. "Nick, you can't give them the agreement, even a fake one. It's Vector."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've seen Vector fight. He's not a straightforward fighter, which makes me think he wants to do something with the agreement, or with the information in the agreement. Even with false information, that can still cause a lot of damage."

"We'll have to risk it."

"At what cost? Starfleet has branded him a terrorist intent on planetary civil war, which means we shouldn't aid and abet him in any way."

"It won't get that far. This is the easiest way to try and suss out whether we can get him to release Bogo willingly – "

"It's the wrong way!" Judy snapped. "You know Starfleet won't approve!"

"So it's the wrong way because Starfleet would disapprove? Or is it the wrong way because it’s Nick Wilde and his dodgy schemes, who listens to him anyway? I already told you from the start that this trip would be about calling in favours. Is that too much for you to handle?"

"You don't have to do things this way. Nick, you're better than that."

"Well I'm not. What made you think I'd do things differently? Wait, don't answer that. I already know. The thing is, you seem to think the fox that deals in favours and the fox you care about are two different foxes. Guess what? They aren't. If you don't trust my method, if you can only trust the second fox – "

– and she shouldn't trust that fox either, because that fox could only watch as she almost died twice, and the first thing that came to Nick's mind now was –

"– you can go your own way."

With her shoulder up against his, Nick couldn't see Judy's expression. He did hear the sharp intake of her breath in disbelief.

By the time she had taken a step back to look at Nick, she was wearing what Nick recalled describing to Finnick as parade rest bitchface. "Sir, sorry, sir. Won't do it again, sir."

Ilysia uncoiled herself, scales rasping against stone. "Hst. Maybe wrong temperature creates wrong mood." Without checking if the Starfleet officers followed, she ducked through a hole set in the wall shared with the house.

Not trusting himself to speak anymore, Nick turned to follow Ilysia. The hole, set about waist height to Nick, made him think of what dens must have been like in the past, when Zootopians still made their shelters with their own hands. He dropped to all fours to wriggle after Ilysia, watching her segmented tail flick ahead of him.

The hole opened up to a living room with a tiled stone floor that was nicely warm beneath Nick's paws. Ilysia slithered right over woven leaf throws and rugs that were scattered all about, while Nick picked his way through.

" _It seems Hopps is from a high strung species. Would hot or cold improve her mood?_ "

" _As Goldilocks said, this is just right,_ " said Nick. It was to his benefit that he didn't share too much with his business associate, especially since Judy had just joined them in the living room. She stayed by the entrance, almost standing sentry with her rifle butt resting on the floor.

Despite Nick's assurance, Ilysia still pressed her nose to the pressure pad and shifted the temperature up a tad. "Good?" she asked, head turning towards Judy to make it clear Ilysia was addressing her.

"It's fine, thanks." Judy's response to Ilysia was gentle, considering Nick and she had been at each other's throats earlier.

"Rule for hosts - make sure guests are comfortable. Rule for guests - Don't touch anything, don't wander around, don't cause more trouble."

" _Trouble? When was there any trouble?_ "

" _You are trouble._ "

" _Lies, trouble would like to take you to court for slander._ "

Ilysia snorted, but Judy didn't even twitch out of parade rest bitchface, as if she'd turned into one of the ceremonial guards back on Zootopia. No time to dwell on that Wilde, time to deal Ilysia while she was comfy and no longer bristling.

" _You'll be able to shed us as easy as snakeskin soon._ As we were saying earlier, we want to meet Vector to try for an exchange. _Could you show us the base where Vector wants his agreement delivered? Got to check on the delivery options for his area._ "

Ilysia slithered over to another part of the floor and leaned on a different coloured panel. The first press dimmed the overhead lights. The second threw up pinpoints of projected light, a starry night recreated in 3D. The last press sent streaks of blue light wending through the star map.

"This river you came on," said Ilysia, head bobbing to mimick the curve of the blue light she was pointing at.

" _You can use your native tongue, Hopps has a translator._ "

" _Good. I don't know why you have such stupid names for your stars. We are here, under Dragon's tail. That star is named as Thuban on Starfleet maps._ "

"Which isn't a word in Standard," Nick couldn't help pointing out. "Honestly I don't know how navigators like you keep place names straight."

" _Vector's base is under Prosperity, which Starfleet names as Mizar. Luckily for you, Dragon's tail and Prosperity are aligned._ " A flick from Ilysia's tongue sent a line arcing between the two named stars

"Can we travel directly following this line?" Judy wondered.

" _No. If you pay attention to the blue line the river does not flow the right way. There are also mountains._ "

Nick meant to pay attention as the two discussed routes, he really did. But something cool had bumped against his foot that felt like a snake's snout in miniature.

"Ilysia," he called out. " _You mentioned don't touch anything right? Could you take your kid away please?_ "

" _I said you couldn't touch anything. That doesn't mean they can't touch you._ "

" _Wait, c'mon how is that even fair?_ " Nick usually wouldn't have any problems with snake babies, but Ilysia's species was poisonous from birth. He dared a glance down as the cautious bump turned to crawling over his foot. The young snake looked back, tongue flicking out to assess this stranger. There were no fangs. Yet.

" _So warm,_ " He/she said, Nick had never figured out how to tell Draconian genders. Speech probably meant it was one of the older kids. Nick tried reasoning.

" _As warm as I am, it's rude to crawl on someone without permission._ "

" _But you are different. Even though you speak our tongue._ " The snake twined itself about Nick's ankle now. Nick felt something poke at his tail, another sibling probably inspired by the first.

Yet another had thrown all caution to the wind and dropped onto Nick's shoulder. Nick bristled but didn't dare to do more. This snake moved the quickest and wended its way to Nick's wrist in a matter of minutes, where he looked offended that Nick's arm ended.

As preoccupied as Nick was with avoiding snake bites, he didn't notice Judy crossing to his corner of the room. Judy’s outstretched paw to the snake came as a surprise.

"I'm pretty warm too. Let's give Wilde some breathing room," she told the young snake through the translator. While holding herself still for the snake to clamber on, Judy's eyes met Nick's. With the star map laid out behind her, he recalled their moment under the actual stars.

But the apology neither of them were willing to offer yet hung heavy between them. As soon as she could, Judy turned away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone would like to see what Nick and Judy look like in their respective uniforms, this series now comes with fanart commissioned from [kisu-no-hi on tumblr](http://kisu-no-hi.tumblr.com/)!  
> 
> 
>   
>    
> 
> 
>   
> So don't worry, things will get better for Nick and Judy soon! 


	4. shot a hole through everything I loved

Before they set off, Nick scanned the communication channels out of habit. He didn't have a team to check in with, and Ilysia probably knew the weather and traffic better than Nick did. But it was something to do while Ilysia and Judy checked on more useful equipment.

He hadn't expected the broadcast he'd stumbled across that he replayed a few times just to be sure, then took with him when he headed to Ilysia and Judy.

"Bad news," he told the two, who had been performing their checks in companionable silence. "Shortly after Hopps and I left, someone made a copy of the actual agreement and made a run for it. Everyone's losing their shit."

"Speak for self," Ilysia muttered. "This is relevant how?"

"The shit stirrer got away, and if he meets up with Vector, then shit will hit the fan."

"If he meets up with Vector and hands him the agreement, we'll have nothing to negotiate with," said Judy, setting down her rifle to dig out her communicator. "So that's why Higgins hasn't called. Is this being shared on the public channel?"

"It's pretty grim listening, Carrots." The nickname slipped out before Nick could think about it. Time to cover. "But sure, it’s a free for all shitshow."

" _I don't understand why you're wasting your time on all the whining if you want to stop the meeting with Vector._ "

" _If we want to have a chance at negotiation, we'll have to go the slow but polite way. It took us all night just to get here by boat._ "

" _That's if you're meeting Vector. But if you want to smash and grab the agreement from the little thief, then there's no need to go by boat._ "

"Go on. We're all ears." He held up Judy's ears out of habit, earning himself a well-deserved jab in the ribs. Yep, she was definitely still angry.

Ilysia, not having any limbs, didn't appreciate the pain Nick was in. " _The thief will be travelling by boat to increase the chances of successful negotiation. To catch up with the thief before he reaches Vector, we take the skimmer. The thief won't know what hit him._ "

" _Very nice,_ " said Nick, once he'd managed an upright position again. " _How-ever, we don't know who the thief is or where he is along the river._ "

" _With the skimmer, we can quickly sweep the length of the river._ "

Judy was already shaking her head. "Ilysia, the scans of the river you showed me had an awful number of boats. How would we know which one has our thief? There's bound to be a few heading in the same direction."

"She's right," said Nick, even though it earned him another surprised look from Judy. "Unless we're really lucky and our thief is a Starfleet officer. Then we can track him by his communicator."

"Wait." Judy jabbed the leafy end of her communicator at Nick. "Everyone given access to the agreement was at the function last night. Did you hand out all the universal translators to all the guests?"

"All Draconians and Starfleet officers with access to the agreement were given universal translators. And I haven't collected any of them back, except for Tsiny's."

"Somehow I doubt that Vector's at the top of his contact list." Judy's wry tone probably meant she was recalling the interview, just as Nick was. "If our thief left in that much of a hurry – "

"He might still have the universal translator! Carrots, I could kiss you." He was halfway through reconfiguring his PADD to track the translators instead when he realised his slip. He had picked up some really bad habits. Glad for the excuse of the PADD, he hunched over the display until his scan of the river threw up a signal. He held up his PADD to the other two. "Bingo. X marks the spot."

Judy swept up her gear, but paused in front of Ilysia. "You've helped us a lot. If you don't mind us borrowing your skimmer, you don't have to come."

"Hst. _Give me a hug and then we'll talk._ "

At the odd request, Judy looked to Nick for confirmation. "What she said, Hopps. Hop to it."

Judy looked Ilysia up and down before finally settling for somewhere midway of Ilysia's length that was covered by the warmer. She'd barely gotten her arms around when Ilysia huffed and slithered out of her grasp. " _Weak Zootopians with their weak grip shouldn't ask to drive Serpentus skimmers._ "

Nick smirked at Judy as he passed. "Don't worry, Fluff, she did the same thing to Finnick. The pressure controls of her skimmer are notoriously temperamental. That's why Ilysia makes the best getaway driver: no one can jack her skimmer."

He'd expected some quip about the skimmer, or if Judy was feeling like her past self again, some acid remark about needing a get-away driver. But all he got in response was a professional nod.

He'd made his bed, now he had to lie in it.

 

Seat belts were, literally, an alien concept to Draconians that could stick to surfaces or twine tightly enough to secure themselves. Nick would need to break his back in several places to wind around the controls as Ilysia was right now.

He'd taken Ilysia's old skimmer enough times to have figured out a solution for a Zootopian. Draconians liked to wedge themselves into tight spaces, and their idea of comfort was to line these narrow spaces with padding. For a smaller Zootopian, these narrow spaces acted as padded pods that gave the illusion of safety.

It held up well enough under high G turns and acceleration. Nick really didn't want to think beyond that.

If any of these reservations had occurred to Judy, she hadn't shown them at the beginning of the trip when she'd copied Nick and tucked herself into another padded space. The reservations might resurface, given Nick's PADD now showed they were catching up to the source of the universal translator Nick was tracking.

"Ilysia, you have any ideas for stopping our runaway?"

Ilysia didn't even twitch from where she was wrapped around the controls. "Come up front to identify thief."

Nick left the safety of his seat to look through the front viewfinder, as did Judy. There were indeed a few boats on the waterway. Nick pointed to the boat that was weaving in and out of the other boats in a pattern that matched the signal on his PADD. "That's our guy."

"That's the same type of boat that we took to visit Ilysia," Judy noted, the universal translator conveying her words to Ilysia as well.

"Hst. _Let's try driving them into a coil._ "

"Herding?" Nick tried to put Ilysia's comment into Zootopian friendly words. "You'll give us enough time to – whoa!"

Before Nick could duck for the safety of his pod, Ilysia was already pointing the skimmer down in a dive. Nick clung onto a random control panel as they snaked in between two boats to come up in front of the boat in question.

The boat swerved, throwing up a wave of water.

Ilysia swore and jerked the skimmer out of the spray. She tried to get in front of the boat again, but got another wave of water for her trouble.

" _This is an atmospheric skimmer. The engines and hull aren't sealed tight. If enough water gets in, we'll be in trouble._ "

"Our thief knows that, and knows enough defensive driving to take advantage." Judy too was scowling at the boat through the viewfinder. "Ilysia does this skimmer have any weapons?"

"Meant for family use," was Ilysia's curt reply.

"What about a harness? For cleaning, maintenance..."

Ilysia flipped open the top of a compartment that housed a tool belt.

"Good enough." Judy slung the belt over her shoulder. "Wilde, I need your help."

"Carrots, whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it."

Judy picked up her rifle next. "There isn't a way for me to hook this belt to anything, so I'll need you to hold on to something and hold on to this belt once I tell Ilysia to open the hatch."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"It'll be fine. Like shooting fish in a barrel, and I know where to aim this time."

"Usually the fish isn't a boat, and both you and the barrel are on the ground. Shooting the boat while hanging out of a skimmer is just crazy!"

"I'm not hearing a better idea now, Wilde. This is easiest and quickest."

"Yeah, sure, if you're catching the express train for shuffling off the mortal coil." For lack of a better idea, Nick stomped after Judy towards the hatch at the end of the skimmer.

The length of the tool belt could be controlled by a switch that reeled the belt strap in or out depending on which way it was pressed. On top of that, once the desired length was achieved it was kept in place by inflating the belt like a pressure cuff.

Judy did both, which required Nick to press his paw up against the small of Judy's back before he could get a good grip. He found some random bar and clung on to that.

"Ready?"

Nick only wished he could match Judy in confidence. "No, not ever, but let's do this."

"Ilysia! The hatch!"

As the back of the skimmer opened, Nick braced himself for the sheer. He didn't have to – Ilysia was keeping the skimmer moving forward, sending wind whistling past either side of the opening.

"A little lower!" Judy called back.

Ilysia took the skimmer around for a second pass in front of the boat, shifting the view from river to land to sky to river again.

Judy dropped to a more secure crouch. "Hold the height and course for your body length."

Nick tried to see what Judy was aiming at and immediately felt dizzy. Instead he focused on the sweep of Judy's ears held back out of her eyes, her squared shoulders, her measured cadence in breathing that he somehow wanted to match.

The shot left her rifle like an exhale. Nick swallowed down the tickle in the back of his throat and made himself focus on the boat. A lizard in white had clambered up the side and was considering his options now that he was dead in the water.

Then he vaulted onto the water and ran as if the surface of the river was made of glass.

Judy glanced back at Nick, who would have shrugged if he didn't have to hold on. "Hey don't look at me, I didn't know Draconians could run on water either!"

"Ilysia, could you reposition us over our runaway? Same height, relative position, distance flight path is maintained." To Nick Judy said, "Wilde, you'll have to hold on a bit longer."

"As long as you need," said Nick. He didn't know why the comment made Judy pause, as if he'd pinned her instead of simply clinging to the belt around her waist.

But Ilysia had already brought them onto their new course and Judy had to snap back to her position again, paws shifting rifle settings before they too stilled. The lizard had made land without breaking stride, and appeared like tiny speck to Nick before the tickling in the back of his throat became too intense for him to keep looking.

Judy too lingered over this shot. But Nick knew the moment she made it when the tension seeped out of her body, long before she called back, "Ilysia bring us down! He won't be stunned for long."

As the hatch closed it abruptly jerked under Nick and Judy's feet, sending Judy sprawling across Nick. He looked at Judy's bright eyes and satisfied smirk at a job well done and felt a second, completely non-physical all emotional jerk – he didn't want to let go. Judy didn't seem to mind him holding on, or how they were pressed up against other. It seemed like ages before Nick could draw in a breath to – 

Then the skimmer hit the ground and in that lurch the moment was gone.

Judy pushed herself back upright, shedding the tool belt as she walked. "I'll check on our thief."

Ilysia had landed them in a good spot – from the again open hatch Nick could see the lizard blinking and swaying his head as he tried to shake off the stun. Judy must have hit him with the lowest setting if he was still conscious. That explained why she had hurried over to the lizard to train her rifle on him again.

Going from the dim of Ilysia's house to the skimmer left Nick unprepared for the harshness of the Draconian afternoon sun. He had to pause to dig out a pair of shades from his satchel before he joined Judy, and even then it took some time for Nick's eyes to adjust.

Judy was more alert, keeping her eyes on the lizard's every movement. Perhaps she spotted some personal quirk that made her exclaim, "Senator Plumi?"

"Senator Rindja's pal? The one that Starfleet so helpfully identified as a basilisk lizard?" Nick peered down at the lizard and spotted the head crest and the matching tail crest. "So it is. Well this got a lot more interesting. I wonder what's his story?"

"Let's find out." Judy nudged Plumi with a foot. "Senator, can you hear me?"

"Ensign Hopps? No no can't be. No no Starfleet knows nothing." The translator's voice almost drowned out Plumi's bewilderment in his native tongue.

"I'm a communications officer, not a doctor, but that sounded like it scored 100 for hearing and 0 for coherency."

"He just needs to be coherent enough so we can decide if he's friend or foe." She nudged Plumi again. "Senator, can you tell us why you're here?"

"Starfleet knows nothing, Starfleet was not meant to be involved. Captain Bogo was not meant to be involved!" As if the words had set off some internal trigger, Senator Plumi stumbled to his feet and started wobbling away.

Judy shoved her rifle at Nick so suddenly that he took it before realising that she had left a loaded gun in his charge. In the time it took for Nick to decide whether he wanted to hold it or toss it Judy had grabbed Plumi's arm and marched him back.

"Would it be faster to shoot him again?" Nick wondered as he held out the rifle to Judy. He was hoped the answer would be yes so she could take the weapon off his hands.

"Only if you wanted to turn his brains into scrambled eggs. We need to reverse the stun."

"Don't look at me. I just eat scrambled eggs, I don't know how to unscramble them."

"And I don't eat eggs," was Judy's dry response. "But I was taught how to handle a Starfleet officer that had been stunned."

"I suppose that's useful for trigger happy Security officers."

Judy snorted. "Yes, both you and Wolford are hilarious. If you could be serious for maybe five minutes, I need you to make sure the universal translator is helping me get Senator Plumi out of his delirium, not sending him further into it."

"You'll be surprised at what I'm game for. I once dangled a rabbit out of the back of a skimmer."

She jabbed him in the ribs again, but it was a playful jab as opposed to the earlier jab that his stomach was still recovering from. Then she was serious again as she asked the Draconian, "Senator Plumi, how are you?" Plumi shrugged, which was slightly better than the rambling. "We are near the River Kankakee. You arrived here by boat when we stopped you. Do you know where you were going?"

"Captain Bogo! Starfleet was not supposed to be involved!" Plumi exclaimed. Judy's tight grip on his arm was the only thing stopping Plumi from making a break for it. Nick pointed at his own temple and wriggled his finger in a spiral.

Judy ignored Nick in favour of speaking more to Plumi. "Well Starfleet is involved now. This is Ensign Hopps, and I have Lt Wilde with me. We're the ones who stopped you along River Kankakee. Can you tell us where you were going?"

"Ensign Hopps. You were with Captain Bogo. So you know about Vector and Bogo."

"Yes, we both know about Vector and Bogo, but their confrontation was in the past. It's now noon the following day. We stopped you along the River Kankakee, but we don't know where you were going. Would you like to share with us where you were headed?"

" _She means it's now Highest Sun. You took the whole night to travel by boat along the river. Where were you taking the boat to?_ "

Apparently when his native tongue wasn't spoken to him by a machine, Plumi responded better. "The boat. The boat could not go all the way. But Vector agreed to negotiate as long as I took the boat to Modimolle Lookout."

"It's a good thing I'm not superstitious, because a lookout locally named as the Feast of the Spirits definitely doesn't sound ominous at all."

"What do you need to negotiate with Vector?" Judy asked.

"Vector wasn't supposed to nab Captain Bogo! Vector was just supposed to have a copy of the agreement!"

Nick raised his shades to exchange a look with Judy. She let go of Plumi to hold out her paw for her rifle. Nick handed it back to her and sidled next to Plumi in case he decided to use this chance to run away again. " _Why was Vector supposed to have a copy of the agreement?_ "

Plumi puffed in annoyance at being held at gunpoint again. "Because they're Draconians! They too deserve to know about the agreement with the Federation."

Nick let his shades drop back down to hide his skeptical look. " _That's a convenient sympathy for Bellycrawlers now that you're in their territory._ "

To their surprise, Plumi dropped down to all fours. He crept forward a few steps, even though that left streaks from the sand of the riverbank over his white robes. "If it weren't for my ancestors learning to walk upright first, I too might have been considered a Bellycrawler. Is this answer enough?"

Then, as if that never happened Plumi sprang back upright, not even bothering to dust off his robes. "You have to let me meet Vector."

"There's something I don't understand," said Judy, squinting at Plumi over the barrel of her rifle. "How would giving Vector a copy of the agreement help in any way?"

"If Vector knew what was in the agreement, it would aid his appeal to have the agreement overturned.

"Or he could just kidnap someone who was supposed to sign the agreement to make sure it didn't happen in the first place," Judy retorted.

"Can't blame Vector really. If Miss Long Shot here thinks that's a long shot, you probably didn't make Vector the best offer."

Plumi puffed up even more. "It was the only one that could be offered without alerting Senator Rindja or Captain Bogo! It was not supposed to turn out like this."

"Well it did," Judy retorted. "How will meeting Vector fix things?"

"If I can convince Vector to go back to our old deal, perhaps he will be willing to reset everything. This is a dispute among Draconians that Starfleet should not be involved in. Our own house has to be set in order before the agreement should go ahead."

"Did you hear that, Fluff? It's a domestic dispute, we can pack our bags and go home."

"Sounds great. Except for the part where Captain Bogo is already embroiled in the dispute."

The lashing of Plumi's tail, while not as violent as Waran's, swept up enough dust. "That was not meant to happen! Part of my negotiation is to make sure that Starfleet doesn't get involved more than it already has. We cannot afford for your Captain to be involved any further. Vector has to let him go. Vector will let him go, once he has the agreement."

Beneath the translator's churned Standard, Plumi sounded sincere enough with the right formal accents and all. Nick turned so his back was to Plumi, cutting off his view of what Nick was saying as he and Judy stood shoulder to shoulder. "Seems like you got your wish, Carrots. We won't need to aid and abet Vector because the Squamata will do it themselves."

"I don't think it's that straightforward. There's something about this deal that Vector made that doesn't seem quite right."

"The entire deal stinks. Plumi's story stinks. Which is even more reason for us to keep out of spray distance, did they not teach you how to deal with skunks in school, Hopps?"

"You already know how lacking my education was, Wilde."

There was something about the way that Judy used his last name that already sent his heart plummeting downwards, even before she said, "I know you advised me not to swim with alien crocodiles, but I'm going to."

"Why? There's a chump over there who's going to deliver the agreement and all to get Bogo released. Why do we have to stick our own necks out?"

"I don't trust that chump."

"That's why we watch and wait for the fallout from a safe distance. Look, take this as the voice of experience from someone who deals in schemes as dodgy as Plumi's. Walk away, Carrots."

“We do need someone to wait from a safe distance in case of any fallout,” Judy agreed. “But that doesn’t have to be the both of us. Nick, what if we don't get there fast enough after Plumi’s deal goes sour? That's gambling with Captain Bogo's life.”

“Bogo made his choice to leave with them. He knew the risks.”

"Did he? Did he know about Plumi's deal?"

"So you want us to go in and be big damned heroes about the whole thing."

"Not us. Just me. I haven't been on many long missions, but each time I try to make sure it's only my life on the line. I won't gamble with Captain Bogo's life, or yours."

She took a step back to face Nick directly. He wondered if she minded her open and gentle expression she saw reflected in his shades. He was already glad that there was no screen on a Comms station to reflect his own expression back at him.

"It's nothing against the fox that deals in favours. We need that fox who knows what to do if the fallout happens. I guess – I guess we have to go our own way."

There was nothing Nick could say to that. It was his own words echoed right back at him.

She went up on tip toe – because Nick wasn't going to bend down, wasn't going to make it easier for her – but Judy found her own way, she always did, placing a paw on his shoulder – he was steady only because he'd already dug his toes into the dust and the stone below that he had to imitate – as she pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

In her next breath she dropped back down, the serious Security officer all over again. She'd shouldered her rifle as she barked out some instructions to Plumi. Nick didn't care; **_couldn't_** care.

He knew that the both of them were truly gone when Ilysia finally left the cover of her skimmer and slithered over. "Hst. _That's a long path ahead of them._ "

Nick stretched a smile across his face. " _Pheromone fakers like Senator Plumi always have a way. They'll get where they need to._ "

" _No, Senator Plumi is not a pheromone faker. Pheromone fakers wave their lies in your face and dare you to challenge them. Senator Plumi is a mimic who hides under the disguise of other's skins._ "

Nick wondered if knowing this would have helped change Judy's mind. Probably not.

His path towards the skimmer was suddenly blocked by a snake tail twisting across his path. " _Hopps will go alone?_ "

" _She chose to go alone._ " Hopefully Ilysia would read any twists in the words as a quirk of Nick's accent in Draconian.

Ilysia snorted, and turned towards her skimmer. " _Zootopians. Figures that you wouldn't understand the concept of winter family._ "

" _What, those crazy folks you hang around each winter?_ " Nick hung back a step, just in case Ilysia's statement wasn't as innocent as it seemed it was. Snakes, even alien ones, did have a habit of striking out.

" _No crazier than you._ " At least Ilysia had opted for a verbal strike. " _In the days before heating technology, winter was a dangerous time that Draconians would not be sharp in body and mind._ Like what you call hibernation. _Then, we gathered in winter houses regardless of species. What was important was our winter house was filled with those that we trusted, our winter family. Here on Draconis, we are more accepting of those who care for other species._ "

Nick ducked into the skimmer after Ilysia, but did not remove his shades. This was as much as he could get in terms of distance. "What's with the pep talk? Is this a mothering thing?"

"Fuck you too, Wilde." Ilysia's voice echoed as she headed further inside her skimmer. "If Hopps matters despite species, then perhaps it is important to deal with the other Draconians in pursuit of the thief." She jerked her head in the direction of her navigational screens. Nick came over – even his shades didn't obscure the symbol signifying a skimmer belonging to Waran's security. The skimmer was also heading towards Modimolle Lookout, although it was traveling in huge, lazy sweeps that suggested it was following a much slower target. A target that, perhaps, might be a boat.

"Ilysia, you ever make a prank call to Modimolle Lookout?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be delayed! I ran out of buffer, so I need a bit more time to write.
> 
> Please keep an eye out for an update in about two weeks time. It'll be Judy's turn to carry the story onwards.


	5. that girl you know she act too tough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ** _Bold italics_** is emphasis.  
>  Because Judy does not understand Draconian without the universal translator, all speech in Draconian will be indicated in description. 
> 
> There's some characters reappearing from distant chapters. I've tried to put in-story reminders, but please leave comments if you're confused and I'll try my best to explain.

Up close, Modimolle Lookout was an intimidating peak that ended in a sharp point hanging over the river. "For a peak named by the locals as The Feast of the Spirits, it's not particularly feast like," Judy said to the other animal in the boat.

If her travelling companion had been Nick, he would have made some quip about questioning the tastes of alien ancestors. Plumi simply tilted his head, a gesture Judy guessed meant confusion. Without the effect of the stun, Plumi had as few words as he had at the function. He'd accepted her presence readily enough to find a boat that could take two.

The smaller boat wasn't that much faster. The pace left Judy with too much time to think.

She'd made the mistake that thinking the new found closeness Nick and she shared meant that they'd agree on everything. That had only worked in a boat in the quiet of night. Once off the ship in the thick of action, they were still very different people that treated missions as if they were a different language. She'd tried to explain why going after Bogo had seemed right to her, but apparently it hadn't been right to Nick. She still didn't know what Nick had been thinking in those last moments when his shades and silence had shielded his thoughts. She'd only known how her insides had twisted as each of her steps seemed to take them further apart.

Yet everything Judy now had on her had memories that were linked to Nick. The explosive charges and the energy packs to power her rifle she'd collected under his cool gaze. Her rifle itself that he'd taken without question when she needed him to. The universal translator that helped her understand what little Plumi said. Her carrot communicator.

She popped in her earpiece (also from Nick, he'd given her **_so much_** ) in the hope that she might now hear a whispered "The wind finally blow you away, Fluff?" She wished it was still last evening. Or better still, she wished she was still on the skimmer, when she'd been flush with the headiness of a job done well, and he'd looked at her with such warmth that she'd pushed aside her anger at their differences.

Thinking about skimmers made her snap out of daydreams and glance up at the sky at the skimmer with the odd flight pattern. Plumi had assured her it was nothing to worry about, but her experience with Senator Rindja left her with doubts. The skimmer of sleek white was keeping the same pace as them, even though it could have travelled a lot faster. It showed a sudden burst of speed now, as it dipped low enough for Judy to pick out weapon turrets.

Judy's ears flattened as she realised the implications. "Plumi! Duck!"

Plumi's disgruntled glare turned into a startled scramble as the skimmer whistled overhead. Judy had already taken her own advice, taking cover behind a high enough seat that still let her track the movement of the skimmer.

That was why she was prepared when the skimmer made a return run. She tackled Plumi to the bottom of the boat.

Plumi's tail thumped the bottom of the boat. "Ensign Hopps, I have to steer!"

"It's too dangerous! There are weapons on the skimmer." The mounted plasma cannons Judy had spotted were large enough. If their energy input was similar to that for Starfleet plasma cannons, neither she nor Plumi could take a direct hit.

Plumi already wasn't listening, shrugging Judy off to scurry back to the controls. Judy left him to it, particularly after Plumi jerked the boat into a turn that threw up a wave of water he'd used so effectively against Ilysia.

Whoever was piloting the skimmer seemed to be anticipating the defensive maneuvers. The skimmer kept just close enough to make Plumi take the sharp turns that threw up waves. Yet the skimmer was far enough out of range of the waves to keep the water from getting into the engines. From the bottom of the boat, Judy could feel the growing tilt. She didn't know how good Plumi was at steering boats, but they were running the risk of capsizing.

Judy wasn't going to let things get to that stage.

After the trouble she had sabotaging the boats with only her rifle, Judy had stocked up on grenades. That should work as well on a skimmer. If she aimed right, she could take out a few of the weapon turrets before they could be used again them.

The odds weren't in her favour. Plumi was still jerking the boat to dissuade the skimmer from strafing them, which meant Judy didn't have a stable base to work from. There was no Nick here to hold her steady, even though the idea of firing from the open back of a skimmer had his fur standing on end. No matter how much better it had been to work with Nick, she'd have to do this alone. She'd done it before.

Judy plucked one of the grenades from her stash and squared her stance. She spent some moments observing. There had to be some tells of how the skimmer and the boat would move.

She found her opening. When the skimmer's dive at their boat reached its lowest point, there was a short window before Plumi threw up a wave that the boat and the skimmer were closest to each other. She had to try to get the grenade behind one of the extended turrets. She had to. She had to make it back, so long as she owed Nick his favour.

She waited, as the skimmer's nose started to dip. She waited, as the skimmer dropped into its dive.

Weapons were fired.

But not at Judy's boat. A new skimmer was streaking along the river, close enough to the water surface to throw up waves. As this skimmer of gunmetal grey moved, it was firing up at the white skimmer that had been worrying the boat Judy and Plumi were in.

A boat that was suddenly sinking into the water. Judy looked around but saw no holes in the base of the boat that would explain their sinking. "Plumi, what's happened to the boat?"

Plumi grabbed Judy's arm, his grip strong despite the thinness of his fingers. "Vector is here. Vector has come to get us!"

Judy looked over the side of the boat. There was a shape below them, though the agitation of the water surface by the gunmetal skimmer was making it hard to see what the shape was.

Water sloshed over the side Judy was peering over as their boat was dragged completely into the water. As water lapped at her ankles, she wondered if she'd ever have the time to find a proper beach. Nick probably could. He had his ways to get to somewhere safe, unlike Judy who jumped into sinking boats.

By the time the water had reached her waist, she saw the curved sides of a submersible. The sides were rising out of the water to start closing over their boat. The water and Judy's alarm were rising faster though. When the water was at her shoulders, the edges of the submersible had yet to close in a water tight seal over the boat.

Buoyancy had Judy's feet floating off the bottom of the boat long before the water rose any further. Plumi let go of Judy's arm to dive into the water itself. Judy glanced between the slowly rising sides of the submersible and the two skimmers that were now in a dogfight in the sky. The exchanged phaser fire made her take a deep breath and dive after Plumi.

The first obvious thing was electronic lights, glowing ghostly amber as indicators of the electronic mechanism that was dragging the boat under. Plumi was following the boat, a dark blob in water murky with river silt. Judy couldn't see anyone or anything else.

She popped back up to the surface. The sides of the submersible had risen enough that it now formed walls about Judy's height on all sides. Guessing that those would be enough to keep out the rest of the river, Judy kept paddling at the surface until the submersible's metal dome closed fully overhead. With her free hand, she fished out her carrot communicator and saw its indicator shift from the green of online to the red of offline. So this was why Bogo's communicator had cut out over the river. He'd gone under it.

The sound of stomping feet had Judy pocketing her communicator before it was seen. Crurotarsi were now entering the dome without concern for the water, of waist height to them, that soaked their clothes. She only recognised Vector because of his headphones and thick gold chain.

When he saw Judy, Vector's mouth spread in a toothy grin that had Judy's back up all over again.

"My apologies," He called out in Standard. "Our submarine is designed for our kind. A little bit of water is of no trouble to us."

"It's not a problem. I can swim," said Judy. She wasn't going to show any discomfort in front of them, even though the water would render her rifle unusable for the next ten minutes as it dried out.

"We'll have the engineers drain the water faster."

Judy's feet had yet to touch the floor when Plumi had skittered out of the water to come up to Vector. Their dip in the water had conveniently cleaned the dust from when he'd been crawling in the sand earlier. "Warlord Vector!" Plumi's use of his own tongue set off Judy's universal translator. "It is an honour that you would come to rescue such a humble one as myself - "

"I did not come for you," said Vector, switching to Draconian too. "I came because someone without a forked tongue yet speaking in the tongue of serpents called to inform me of intruders in my territory."

Nick. That had to be Nick. Judy felt her spirits lift as she realised that Nick still had her back, even this far out. It wasn't his voice directly in her ear, or his warmth by her shoulder, but it would be enough.

Judy's feet touched the ground. She gave her communicator one last squeeze before letting it settle in her pocket. Her grenade, meant for a skimmer but now as a means of defense against the Crurotarsi, stayed in her hand.

"You've told us why you're here," Judy said to the gathered Crurotarsi and Senator Plumi. "Now it's our turn to tell you why we're here. Senator Plumi, didn't you have an agreement you wanted to talk about?"

Thankfully, Plumi finally took the cue, although it had been delayed. "It is as the Starfleet officer said. We would like a better venue for us to present you with the agreement between the Federation and Draconis."

"The agreement comes with conditions as well," said Judy, wondering if she was right, wondering if she hadn't come along Plumi might have simply given the agreement to Vector. "We would like you to release Captain Bogo in exchange for the arrangement."

"A negotiation," said Vector, stubbornly using Standard although it was clear Judy's universal translator was working. "If this is a negotiation, you will have to excuse us for taking the negotiation to a better location than a submarine." He turned on his heel, a dismissal. Or a call onwards, if the way Plumi scurried after him was any indication. The rest of the Crurotarsi followed, without care for this strange rabbit and her weapons.

Further down the rabbit hole, Judy mused to herself, because there was no Nick to quirk a grin at her. Her mind helpfully supplied that Nick would rib her by asking, Oh you can make those jokes but I can't?

She took a deep breath and followed Vector, as she had planned all along.

  


The trouble with arriving at the enemy's base in a submersible was that Judy had no gauge of the size of the base they had been brought to. The narrow channel of water they had surfaced in was just larger than the width of their submersible. The dock was a lot larger, taking up half of the domed structure they were in.

Beyond that, Judy had no idea of the scale of the building. Were there more docks? Was any part of the base above ground? There were some stairs leading away from the dock, but she did not have the luxury of exploring. Vector and his retinue, which included Plumi, were leaving the submersible. Vector was leading the group towards the other end of the docks with single minded purpose.

Though no one was making sure Judy followed, she did so anyway. Anger at their arrogance in not taking her seriously aside, she still didn't trust Plumi with the negotiation. She didn't need negotiation skills to tell when he'd left important parts out of the discussion, as he had kept doing in casual conversation with Vector in the submersible.

Following the group proved to be a good choice. The doors in Vector's base seemed to be exclusively manually operated blast doors. Judy could have blasted through them now her gear was dried out, but it was easier to let Vector's soldiers heave the doors open. She was less certain about the elevator they ended up in, but at least the elevator had enough space that Judy wasn't crammed against the wall.

She counted six levels before the elevator doors opened. Vector led them down a gunmetal corridor to a large conference room, if the huge table in the middle was anything to go by. Despite the number of seats, Vector dismissed most of his guards, with only two stationed within the room. The bulk of Judy's attention, however, was on the extreme end of the table where Captain Bogo was seated.

"Captain!" Thankful that his seat made him more accessible and that the table provided a convenient cover, Judy went right up to him.

"Hopps." Bogo's response was more measured. Since he wasn't a Security Officer, he froze like a deer in headlights when Judy went right up to him and started checking him over. She was thankful the Captain was seated and the convenient cover of the table, which made carrying out her plan easier.

As expected no one pulled her away, although Bogo finally managed, "Hopps, in case you haven't noticed I'm not Wilde."

She clucked her tongue at him, imitating the way her mom fussed over the younger Hopps. "Can't I make sure my Captain is alright?"

When Judy dropped a grenade in his pocket, Bogo's expression cleared. "I'm fine." She slipped him a roll of explosive charges with a detonator next. "Thanks for your concern."

"Just doing my duty." Judy took a step back before her proximity became too suspicious. She'd have handed him a phaser if phasers for hooves weren't in short supply, and hers wasn't sized for rabbits.

"It seems no introductions are needed," Vector mused in Standard from his seat on the other end of the table. Plumi was standing at attention by Vector's shoulder.

"I'd prefer explanations over introductions. Why are the two of them here?" Bogo jabbed a hoof tip at Plumi and Judy in turn.

"We have a proposal that all of us must absolutely discuss," said Plumi, his translator doubling his words. "Vector and I were thinking that in the interest of fairness, he should also have a copy of the agreement."

"That wasn't what we discussed!" Judy was about to launch into the details when Bogo held up a hoof. Relieved that someone who knew better could speak, Judy let Bogo take over.

"Senator Plumi, allow me to remind you of two points." Triggered by Plumi's use of Draconian, Bogo's translator was also churning the Draconian version of Bogo's response. "One, that is an agreement with the Federation that I've been authorised to sign. Two, you seem to have forgotten the agreement is confidential. Should I refresh you on its meaning in Standard?"

"That's why you're part of the negotiation." Plumi was quick to counter. "We absolutely must have your views."

"I don't offer my views under duress. In negotiations with the Federation, freedom of movement and of will is a prerequisite, not a condition."

"Patience, Captain," said Vector. With his curious insistence on Standard, his words came out slow and measured compared to his rapid fire exchanges with Plumi on the submersible. "In the three days you are my guest, you will have all the time to mull your final decision."

The steel in Bogo's words harmonised with the formal tones of his translator. "It's difficult to mull a decision I'm not aware of. What precisely am I supposed to ruminate on?"

Vector waved a clawed hand at Plumi, who had drawn himself to full height at the attention. "Plumi has with him a copy of the agreement that you were willing to sign with the Squamata, leaving half of Draconis out in the process. I suggest you sign the agreement with me instead. Then you may go."

Bogo's nostrils flared in annoyance. "Seeing that only Hopps here is capable of such leaps in logic, I don't understand why you would want to sign an agreement flawed enough to leave out half the planet."

"That is a question for the Federation and Senator Rindja, no?" Vector's crocodile smile was bordering on the unnerving. "I am following in their footsteps."

"Well I have no intention of following the herd this time. You'll need better justification than precedent to get me to sign the agreement."

"Maybe the three days to witness the injustice suffered by my kind will change your mind. You will have time, Captain."

"I don't see why this time has to be spent on your base. The longer I stay, the less likely the Federation will allow me to represent them on the agreement."

"Even a former representative will still wield some power. I'd prefer us to be on the same side before we discuss more. Isn't that right, Plumi?"

"That is right. I will be here and keep the agreement with me to maintain the confidentiality you talked about. Please do give Vector's proposal a chance!"

"Plumi, I don't care for your choice in accommodation. But I am interested to hear from Hopps. How do you feel about the three days to consider Vector's suggestion?"

Judy knew what she wanted, but was less certain about her ability to convince the others, even with the aid of her translator. "I think you should let Captain Bogo go. There's nothing he can see here that he couldn't from the Integrity.

"As for Hopps herself, as her commanding officer I would prefer that she be allowed to report back. She doesn't have to be here for any of this."

"Oh certainly." Vector's quick agreement was suspicious. "She's welcome to find her own way back. I wouldn't risk my soldiers as her escort."

"What about Captain Bogo?" Judy was tired of this very important point that the Crurotarsi seemed to find any excuse to side step. "He doesn't need the three days!"

"The three days is what your Captain and I agreed back in the capital. You were there, Ensign."

"We both know we're renegotiating now. Plumi wants to give you the agreement. Let the Captain go."

"I will. After three days."

Judy didn't know how to get out of the rut she was stuck in, or the significance of the three days to Draconians. Nick would have known. But Nick wasn't here now.

"Hopps, let it go," said Bogo. "I'm in no immediate danger. You've done what you can here, see to the rest of the crew."

"Yes sir." Judy hadn't been able to say that without bitterness today. At least Bogo didn't look as hurt as Nick had. That thought gave Judy the confidence to turn on her heel and stride out of the room, never mind the echoed smiles of Vector on the guards she passed.

For all that Vector had said Judy would not have an escort, as soon as she left the conference room she saw guards that just happened to be standing in front of other routes that she might have taken. The only clear path was to the elevator, which sat empty and waiting.

That might have been their mistake. Once in the elevator, Judy might have mistimed her leap so that she hit the topmost button instead of the last button that would have brought her back to the dock. She'd never promised Vector that she would take the most direct way back.

No one stopped her and Judy found that the elevator opened up to a roof, where the blue skies she had been travelling under earlier was giving way to dusk. Even in the fading light, Judy could see that there was no apparent river winding between Modimolle in the distance and the building she was on now. Judy herself might not have found Bogo at this base if it hadn't been for Senator Plumi.

Judy's vantage point from the rooftop also showed her one other thing - the white skimmer that had been tailing Plumi and herself had discovered the base too.

A quick glance around showed no surface to air weapon installations. Perhaps Vector had been too confident in the secrecy of his base. Judy's paw went to the earlier grenade that she'd wanted to use on the same skimmer. The roof offered better coverage and stability than the boat.

Again the flight pattern of the skimmer gave her pause. This wasn't the smooth flight path of earlier where the skimmer was tuned and had fuel to spare. The skimmer flew with erratic dips as it struggled to maintain altitude. As it drew closer, Judy made out phaser damage standing out stark black against the white of the skimmer. She drew back to the shadow of the elevator well, and waited.

The skimmer didn't land so much as drop onto the roof of the base, like a weary animal on its last legs. The back of the skimmer opened more smoothly to reveal Waran and other Draconians - no, Squamata, that was the term Nick had used - with wary claws on their weapons.

The mystery was too great. Judy too kept a paw on her rifle as she stepped out to confront Waran. "What are you doing here?"

Waran's security officers immediately turned their rifles on Judy, but Waran was quick to wave them down. "Ensign Hopps," he said in Standard, as polite as he'd been when he spoke to Judy and Nick in a foyer, which seemed like a lifetime ago. "I am checking the Crurotarsi locations that Captain Bogo might be held in. I said I would during your interview. We didn't manage to finish yours, since Starfleet wasn't able to tell us where you were."

"I'm here now, and so is Captain Bogo. What are you planning to do about it?" Judy wasn't going to explain herself when Waran's presence was still raising too many questions, especially after the bomb.

"A rogue Senator has his uses." Waran's comment had Judy tensing on the balls of her feet, ready for a dash. "Thanks to Senator Plumi we're on our way to rescue Captain Bogo. Come with us. Getting your captain away from Vector is important."

"What do you plan to do with Vector?"

"Does it matter?"

"Captain Bogo and Vector have discussed nonmilitary resolutions many times. That means it's against Starfleet orders to engage him in battle."

"Convenient," the Standard word spat by Judy's universal translator made Waran's hiss sound harsher than it did in his own tongue. When Waran had eased back to Standard, he almost sounded reasonable when he said, "How about you get in touch with Lt Wilde then? We don't know his communicator number, and Tsiny says his translator is always off."

The reference to Tsiny was Waran's mistake. Judy's unease gave way to full blown alarm for Nick. What did the Draconians want with him?

She wasn't going to get any answers out of Waran. And maybe it was time Waran stopped getting answers out of her.

"I would. Except that I don't have a communicator on me, and I wouldn't know Lt Wilde's number off the top of my head."

"Search her," Waran clicked at his officers in Draconian. Even though her translator let her know what they were doing Judy didn't protest, because they weren't going to know what they were looking at even when they found it.

They were thorough enough to find it, but Judy kept a bored expression even as one lf the security officers turned back to Waran to say in Draconian, "Sir. Other than her weapons, this was the only other thing of interest that we found." He held up a carrot shaped object to show Waran.

"What IS that?"

"A joke between friends. I'm not sure if Draconis has carrots, but they're a Zootopian delicacy I find really tasty."

Waran already wasn't listening. At Waran's curt nod at Judy, the Draconian security officer handed Judy back her belongings. Judy took them, making sure to hide the green light of her communicator behind a cautious paw.

None of the Draconians noticed anything amiss. Judy watched them file into the elevator, and only when the doors closed did she rock back onto her heels.

She couldn't afford to relax for too long. Thumbing the right buttons on her communicator, she hailed on the now green and clear communications channel. "Ensign Hopps to Integrity. Nick, what's your status? Talk to me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote right down to the wire again, so the next chapter will be another 2 weeks in coming.
> 
> Keep your eyes peeled though! If I can get it done sooner, I'll post.


	6. gonna be weeks 'til I breathe again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter overlaps the previous chapter in the timeline, so some events are happening at the same time.
> 
> Speech in Draconian is in _italics_  
>  Emphasis is in **_bold italics_**

Nick hadn't been monitoring Judy's frequency. He was absolutely sure of that, because as soon as he had made the call to Vector, Clawhauser was next on Nick's to call list. Nick had made sure the image of the cheetah's round face had taken up the entire of his PADD screen, leaving no space for anything else. "Claw! Put aside your Lucky Chomps, cos have I got some local treats for you."

Clawhauser sighed, not even sparing Nick an ear twitch as he tossed back another mouthful of cereal. "What trouble did you get into this time, Nick?"

"Who, me? No trouble at all. Hopps on the other hand - "

Bits of cereal were thankfully splayed thousands of miles away in space and not in Nick's face. Clawhauser wiped them off his camera so he could splutter at Nick, "What did you do to Judy?"

"What did I do to Hopps? As my bud and esteemed colleague shouldn't you ask if Hopps did anything to me?"

Clawhauser was now pouting at the tissues clutched in his paw. "Well. You know Draconis well enough to spirit her away on a boat. Alone. Together. Alone together. The rumour mill was saying that the two of you had eloped."

"Right. And as the most active churner of the rumour mill I'm sure you absolutely didn't add anything to that story. With friends like this who needs enemies?"

"Someone's got a sharp tongue today." Clawhauser leaned in to make a stage whisper. "So it's trouble in paradise? Where's Judy? Judy!"

"She's gone to visit a local warlord about Captain Bogo. That's why my local contact ducked out, warlords and babies are a terrible combination -"

"What? Judy's gone to visit Vector?"

"Yeah, I just made a call to Modimolle lookout."

"Repeat that again."

"What, Modimolle lookout?"

"I had it here somewhere." Clawhauser sent cereal boxes flying as he tapped buttons all over the console. "There you are you little dickens! Get this - the records show the Captain's signal cut out near Modimolle lookout."

"Do you have coordinates where Bogo disappeared?"

"Here ya go." A series of numbers popped up on Nick's screen. "I wonder what's there? A black hole? The Bermuda triangle? Pirate treasure!"

Nick was only half listening, switching Clawhauser to audio so he could pull up the map left open on his PADD from tracking Senator Plumi. He ignored the blips of tracked communicators and universal translators across the map to focus on the coordinates Clawhauser had given him. The coordinates were right in the middle of the river. Despite himself, Nick traced the river for the dual blips of Judy's communicator and universal translator. Her boat was crawling along, but her travel path was clear - she was on a collision course for the exact spot that Bogo had disappeared.

No. He couldn't afford to speculate, he had to be a Comms officer now. Nick sent the map with its tracked signals and all to Clawhauser.

"Ooh someone's been busy! Look at all those communicators go! It's almost like watching a flea circus - but what's the blue stuff?"

"I've been tracking our universal translators too since we heard the agreement was nabbed by our Draconian counterparts. Starfleet officers have both, but most of them should be at Draconis' capital except for Hopps - " Nick's brain caught up with his mouth and the next bit came out more slowly. "Hopps and **_Bogo_**."

"Aww, it's so sweet how you care for your bun hun!"

"Claw, is Finnick on shift? I need to beam back to the Integrity. There may be a way to find Captain Bogo, but I'll need the ship's systems." No need to mention Judy for now, if Nick could find the Captain Judy could come home.

"Oh! I almost forgot! You need to stay on Draconis, we need a planetside Comms team." This time it was Clawhauser who sent his map. "The grey areas are where the signal gets bounced like crazy from geological interference. We need to overlay what you've got on the ground."

The patches of the grey looked like blight across Nick's screen. "That's a mess."

"Isn't it?" Clawhauser sighed. "Whaddya have in mind to find Bogo?"

"Like Carrots, he has both his communicator and the universal translator. Think we can find him with double the signal and starship scanners?"

"O. M. Goodness Nick! This might be the break we're looking for!" Clawhauser hammered furiously at his keyboard, but Nick knew what he was going to say once he'd slumped in his seat. "It's not the break we're looking for."

Nick sure had his work cut out for him in keeping Judy safe. "Well we've still got all those grey areas. Where do you need me?"

Even Clawhauser's whiskers were drooping. "You'll have to go to Modimolle lookout. It's right smack in the middle of the largest grey zone."

Going to the place that Ilysia refused to have anything to do with was not doing wonders for Nick's confidence. Ilysia had booted Nick out of the skimmer when he'd mentioned getting in touch with Vector, which was a feat for a species that didn't wear boots. All the locals Nick had met so far thought Vector was trouble, and Nick hadn't seen anything to the contrary yet. "Red shirt in a danger zone. Thanks bud."

"Sorry Nick. But you're Away Comms - "

"Where Comms officers go to die, I know." That was the literal meaning of never getting attached to Away teams after all.

"Well from her communicator signal it looks like Judy's heading in the same direction! You'll have better odds if you go with her - "

"No." Nick liked to pick his fights, and that was not a fight he was going to go into, not again.

"Nick, what happened?"

Clawhauser had seen the awful faces that Nick had made at his Comms station before, but Nick had never given him a straight answer on what had prompted them. Why would he, when this came so easily? "What could have possibly happened? If Fluff and I are heading into trouble, I've got to keep my eyes off her fuzzy wuzzy tail. Since I know her perky tush has no appeal for you, I'll let you watch it."

Clawhauser bought it. "You two are the cutest!" By tomorrow Clawhauser was going to start taking odds on when Nick was going to grab Judy's tail in public. Nick would bet on it, except Clawhauser had claw tips in every betting pool on the ship.

"Time to get off the horn and keep an eye on the map, Claw. I'm gonna have to bug Finnick to get in position. See you then, Wilde out."

"Be careful, Nick. Clawhauser out."

Clawhauser was doing his job, now it was time for Nick to do his. Nick toggled his personal communicator, putting Finnick right at the top of speed dial before calling him.

Finnick answered with a drawled, "You forget how to start a boat again, Wilde?"

"Ha! We're getting a technology upgrade in transportation options. Think you can set up a planetary hop via transporter?"

"I could do it in my sleep, which you woke me from you fucker. Where to?"

"Modimolle lookout."

 

If Nick was told to design a listening post based on his Comms station and an unlimited budget, he might have built Modimolle lookout. Whoever built this place knew what he was doing. That meant Nick had all that technology at his disposal and all from a convenient rocky hideaway 50m away from the lookout. He had a few tricks, and if you had the right security codes technology didn't care who you were.

He made a call to Clawhauser on the Crurotarsi dime. "Wilde to the original Spots. Spot anything from your eye in the sky?"

"Flying blind up here, Nick." Clawhauser's tone set off alarms in Nick's head long before Claw added, "I can't see you and I can't see Judy."

Nick almost couldn't muster a quip over the harshness of his own breathing, but he made a stab. "Gone the way of the Bogo?"

"No kidding." Clawhauser sent an updated version of Nick's map. "I was monitoring her live. One minute she's there, the next? Poof! Gone."

Nick could see that on the map. He could also see the actual location Judy had disappeared was within broadcast location of Modimolle. Why was Plumi asked to come to Modimolle if he was going to disappear before he arrived? Clearly there was another purpose to Modimolle that could lie in the building itself.

Nick was already in range. What harm would a few more checks do?

"Claw, I'm gonna give you your eyes on the ground, and then I need you to watch my back."

Clawhauser gasped in awed tones. "A rescue!"

"Aren't you getting me mixed up with Carrots here? We're Comms, not Security. I was thinking a little investigative work."

"Like the Great Mouse Detective. I'll be the Dawson to your Basil!"

"If you feel like a tiny mouse, be a tiny mouse." Nick set up a portable transponder to relay signals that the nearby lookout may have diverted or masked. "Your feed should be coming up... coming up... it's there. "

Nick's local feed was overlaid live over Clawhauser's. The grey areas were looking significantly smaller.

"Ooh, I finally see you! They were using jammers, the rascals!"

"Which makes me think Hopps and Bogo disappearing just around the river bend? Not a coincidence. And if there are any records, it would be here."

"Target lock on one bushy fox tail, go get your records!"

"Since you're looking, does this uniform make my butt look big?" Nick quipped as he navigated the history of Modimolle feeds.

"Oh no, that's a question for Judy. I would never question the bun hun if she likes your butt the way it is."

"Can we send you instead on the next diplomatic mission? Your talent is wasted on a Comms console, wasted."

"That's if we get the Captain back. Without him, there will be no Away missions, no next planet, no ship!"

Nick would have a smart comment for that, he really did. But he had made the mistake of looking through the video feed before sending it to Clawhauser, and he had seen the impossible - the boat Judy was in had been sucked into the water.

Even back on Zootopia the water had been the domain of dolphins and whales and maybe hippos like Higgins, if you were stretching it. On Draconis, the water was the domain of the Crurotarsi. Forget the jamming station at Modimolle. That was only smoke and mirrors before heading straight into the crocodiles' jaws.

" - Nick? Are you alright?" Clawhauser's frantic question drew Nick back to the present. Glad for the excuse, Nick sent the relevant videos off to Clawhauser.

"Just checking the videos - "

"Ssh!" Clawhauser all but hissed at him. "Are you sure there's no one near you?"

"I thought you knew me so well, bud. There are things I actively avoid, like entering enemy bases." Nick dared a peep out of his rocky hiding place. Modimolle was within sight, and he was sure if anyone was looking all his red would stand out against the landscape. However, there were no alarms or approaching soldiers that Nick thought would signal that he'd been sighted. "What makes you think I have company?"

"Tsiny just called Higgins to ask if he knew where you were. And when Higgins brushed him off, guess what? Tsiny claimed he had a better idea than the Commander did!"

"How long ago was that?"

"Not even five minutes! You sure there isn't anything? Storming soldiers? Draconian death rays? Flying lizards?"

"The closest I've got to anything on your list was when I saw a lizard walk on water." Nick was already packing, both physically and digitally as he closed backdoors and erased traces that could give away his location. "Are your feeds still holding up without my connection?"

"They're fine, but you might not be if you stay in location any longer. If I can see you, who knows who else can."

"You need to work on your inspiring speeches, Claw. I'll call when I get to a safe location. Wilde out." Nick tucked his PADD away so he had his hands free as he made a dash -

" _Where do you think you're going?_ " came a voice from the stone outcropping shading Nick's hiding place.

Nick looked up to find Tsiny rising from his crouch, the grey and brown of stone Tsiny had adopted standing out against the orange and reds of a sunset sky. Just as Tsiny had surprised Nick at the diplomatic event, the Secret Service officer now shifted the colour of his skin and clothes to the black favoured by the Squamata military. His right eye was fixed on Nick, his left flicked back to look at his other agents joining him before also turning back to focus on Nick.

Nick had been too quick in cutting the line. Clawhauser might not know Draconian, but he would know that Nick was talking to someone else. If Nick could let someone else know...

Tsiny was already getting impatient. " _Don't act dumb. I know you can speak several dialects of Draconian. Your call to Vector was... fascinating._ "

Nick stuck his hands in his pockets. " _Funny, I thought it would be below you to know the tongue of serpents. Or do you just like keeping tabs on Vector like a jealous ex?_ "

Tsiny didn't rise to the verbal jab, or bother with Nick's change in posture. " _I like to know what the Bellycrawlers are saying when I step on them. Do you still remember what I told you when I returned your translator?_ "

Tsiny was just excellent at giving Nick the creeps, but Nick wasn't going to let anyone know that they got to him. Especially when Nick was digging in his pocket for his communicator. He was matter-of-fact when he recounted, " _You told me you hoped I knew my Draconian history as well as I knew the language._ "

" _I also told you I hoped it helped you choose the right side. The next thing I know, one of my boats is missing. Then, after you make a call to Vector, I find you at one of his bases. Your mistake was visiting a lookout that I'm keeping tabs on. What's the saying? Three strikes and you're out?_ " Tsiny held out a clawed hand to the nearest agent, who handed him a rifle.

Well, it looked like Judy's rifle. Nick wasn't the officer who could recognise weapons at a distance. He talked, which he attempted now even as his finger pads brushed his communicator. " _I did not know you were the sort to play baseball, sir! If I could interest you in watching a game, our ship does feeds -_ "

" _Perhaps I should have asked if you knew Draconian law as well._ " Tsiny had devoted one eye to inspecting the rifle, with the other still fixed on Nick. Eyes that were able to move in different directions were just weird. If Tsiny had looked away, Nick could actually see who he was calling, rather than relying on blind faith. " _On Draconis, trespassers on protected areas can be shot on sight. I know Vector practises that, from the number of agents I've lost to him just to keep an active watch on this lookout. For that, I don't mind helping him get rid of a pesky Starfleet officer with one of Vector's preferred rifles._ "

If Judy was in this position, the entire thing would have gone down like a showdown at high noon. But Nick wasn't confident enough to shoot Draconians, even on solid ground instead of out of the open back of skimmers. He had to find another way. His usual method of talking it out with Tsiny was impossible when there was that much baggage between Vector and Tsiny, and Nick was just a convenient way of thumbing his nose at the warlord. But maybe there was another way that involved whoever had picked up Nick's call.

" _You've been talking about the language and history and laws of alien planets, how about we add theology while we're at it? See, this place is called Feast of the Spirits. Makes me think that supernatural things might happen, amirite?_ "

" _Do I look superstitious to you?_ " Tsiny scoffed.

" _No, but I'd love to see how you explain what happens next in your report._ " Especially since Tsiny didn't know about Nick's speed dial to Finnick. "Beam me up Finnick!"

The inside of the transporter room had never looked so welcome.

Now adrenaline had run its course, Nick slumped against the console that Finnick was operating. Finnick shot Nick a bleary-eyed and unimpressed look.

"When I pull all-nighters, it's for better things than your sorry ass. It's gonna cost you extra to beam up the rabbit."

"Hopps?"

"How many rabbits do you know of planetside?"

Nick could put on a brave face for Clawhauser, but Finnick had come from the USS Tundra. He'd seen too many of the masks Nick had pulled on over the years to be fooled by one.

Nick put one on anyway, the one with the greasy smile of a kidder. "I don't know where she is. She went to rendezvous with Captain Bogo. He put the bull in bulldozer, she's the Energiser Bunny with gun upgrades. Together they fight crime! Or at least amazingly dubious alien warlords."

If Nick had been talking to Judy she would have called his bluff, as she had when he'd tried to dissuade her from meeting Ilysia. But Finnick and Nick had developed the fine art of ignoring each other's bullshit. Finnick saw through Nick, and pretended he saw nothing. Instead, he hopped off his special console seat, the one Nick called the baby high chair and Finnick called "the thing I'm going to jam up your butt if you don't stop calling it that, Wilde."

"Is the tiny tot heading off to catch up on his zees?" Nick wheedled.

"Grabbing a snack from the replicator," Finnick grunted. "Onion rings, to be washed down with the latest batch from the still. What's your poison?"

 ** _How'd about a bikini?_** crossed Nick's mind. But that placed too much stock in the future when even the next minute was an uncertainty. It would have to be greasy excuses for potatoes, if the replicator could get the amount of grease right.

Nick was about to find out when his communicator buzzed. He'd expected Clawhauser checking in on him. He didn't expect to see Judy's name on the display.

Muscle memory had him answering the call before he could think about it. He didn't know what he was going to say. He didn't know what **_she_** was going to say.

"Ensign Hopps to Integrity," she said, even though she'd commed his personal communicator, not the main ship channel. Then again, she'd hailed him in the same way when she'd first appeared at his door. As if reading his doubts, she added, "Nick, talk to me."

Nick went with the first thing that came to mind, because he was already remembering Judy's boat and rising water and he didn't want to go into more details beyond that. "I didn't know there was network coverage under the sea."

"Nick! Oh Nick. Listen, I found Captain Bogo in one of Vector's bases that is accessible from the river by an underwater channel. They're only going to exchange the Captain and the Squamata agreement in three days, I think they have some plan to convince the Captain to sign the agreement and we've got to save him before then."

"Wow. Isn't that an interesting story for Starfleet." Nick was really looking forward to those fries now. Or maybe he was going to go straight for the strongest drink that Finnick had in the still.

Judy picked up on his flat tone. "Wait! I - I know I just left you on a hostile planet when you're already in danger from the Draconians. Even Tsiny is hunting for you. And I know asking you to help me save Captain Bogo is going to put you in more danger. But I already know I can't do it without you." Damn Finnick and his choice of a sensitive microphone that let Nick hear the hitch in Judy's voice. "I tried - I tried to negotiate with Vector, I tried to make Plumi hand over the agreement, but I couldn't. You were right, and I was wrong. I'm really am just a dumb bunny."

"You just said all that on record." Nick pretended to mull his opinions. "Where would be a good place to play this recording? Oh I know, at your Captain inauguration. Some Ensigns will ask 'Was Captain Hopps ever young and stupid like us?' and I'll reply, 'Did she ever call herself a dumb bunny? Yes, yes she did'. And I will play this recording and it will be glorious, Carrots, it'll be another thing you'll never get to live down."

A sensitive microphone also let Nick hear when Judy was startled into laughter, which made Nick more willing to put up with the other inconveniences. "Someone's due for a promotion before I am, or is the Lieutenant rank just for show, Wilde?"

"Junior Grade. And you don't make Captain without pulling the type of heroics that you do and I don't, Fluff."

"Promotions happen only if the heroics deliver results. The Captain is still held captive. And - and are you safe Nick? I heard Tsiny was looking for you."

"Safer than you are." Nick cradled his communicator to his ear so he could tug out his PADD to update the maps. Judy was finally showing up, the dual blips of her communicator and translator steady and clear. "Sure I can't convince you to swing over to the starship side?"

"Not until Captain Bogo is safe." Judy tripped over her next words. "If - if you could just coach me on what to say via my ear piece - "

"No can do, Fluff."

She sighed. "Is this about the problem I have with polite forms in Draconian or doing things the wrong way?"

"Neither. Hold still. I'm beaming down to you, Carrots."

He shot Finnick a look in case his buddy wanted to get shirty about beaming Nick back to the place that Finnick had just yanked him out of. But the good thing about Finnick was that he was your go to guy when things needed to get done without question. He had already clambered onto his booster seat, a claw tip poised over the right button.

That and Judy's restored tone of victory had Nick smiling at his communicator. "I'll be in position," Judy promised. "See you soon, Nick."

Nick clicked his communicator shut so he could shove his PADD under Finnick's nose. "You think you can get me here?" He tapped Judy's signals.

"Quit asking dumbass questions, of course I can. For the record, I'm not asking any favours because I'm not convinced I can collect from idiots that pull heroic stunts."

"Oh ye of so little faith. It's not like you have a better colour shirt to lend me."

"Get one from Bogo when you see him."

"I'll tell him you said that." Nick tossed off a quick salute and backed into the right spot on the transporter pad for beaming back planetside. "Energise!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is now on a two week update schedule. See you then!


	7. oh ye of so little faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ** _Bold italics_** for emphasis and for thoughts.
> 
> It's Judy so she's hearing all the Draconian through a translator. Check the speech tags for language details.

Although the officers Waran had left behind with the skimmer were rushing repairs, they'd spared a guard to keep an eye on Judy.

Earlier, when it was just Judy and she knew she could hold her own, she'd resented the lack of similar attention from Vector. Now, with Nick beaming down to her, Judy worried about how the guards would respond to Nick's presence. Would they be wary? Or would they be hostile off the bat and shoot to kill?

She didn't want that. So she'd retreated to the shadow of the stairwell, where they had to crane their necks to see her. To make sure they didn't do that too often, she savaged the tiled part of the roof, and practiced her aim by skittering bits of tile across the roof. The sound at least kept them aware of where she was that they didn't check on her too often. Hopefully they would just peg her odd behavior as strange Zootopian behaviour.

When the tell-tale lines of transportation criss-crossed in front of her, Judy made sure to time her last throw such that she had the most time with Nick. He'd barely touched down when she tugged him down to flop by her in the shadow of the stairwell.

"Ouch. A better welcome - "

Judy clamped Nick's mouth shut between her paws. "There's armed guards up here." At Nick's nod, she let him go.

"Wow, you bring me to the nicest places," he drawled. He'd dealt with having to keep his voice low by coming in so close his breath ruffled the fur of her cheek. That let her spot the quaver in his words.

"You wanted to come," she stated. Mentioning that fact compelled her to do what she wanted to do since their moment on Ilysia's skimmer - she tugged him to her and kissed him.

It had only been a day - maybe less - since they last kissed, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Perhaps that was what lent the kiss its dizzying breathless all-encompassing quality, where the only things that mattered was Nick and how the fit of their mouths was evidence that he'd come for her, no matter his own unease, and they'd found each other again.

When Nick had his mouth back again he said, "11 out of 10. Seems like you do your best kissing when there's a risk of being discovered."

Nick was right. Judy sighed and dug about for something to throw. "They'll be expecting some noise out of me now."

"You've been singing them the same songs you've defiled my sound system with?"

"Har har. When they start running, follow me and only run the same way as I'm going, understand?"

"What, are you tossing a bomb at them or something?" Nick's eyes went wide at the grenade she was holding in her hand. "Carrots, I was just kidding!"

Judy already wasn't listening. Practice with bits of tile had perfected her aim, and the grenade she'd set aside for the skimmer all this while skittered across its surface to stop exactly where she wanted it.

To the credit of Waran's officers, it only took them a split second for them to recognise the grenade and duck for cover. Judy used that opportunity to dash into elevator, with Nick hot on her heels. Using the sides of elevator as launching pads to get enough height, she angled her leaps so that she hit in succession the close button and the floor of the conference room where she had last seen Bogo.

She barely settled on her feet when Nick tugged her down and threw himself over her, his entire body pressing her into the floor of the elevator. When she wriggled free enough to stick her head out, she saw Nick had his paws over his eyes and was muttering something that sounded too much like "we're going to die" on repeat.

"We're not going to die," she told him in her firmest tones, and wriggled out the rest of the way to get back on her feet.

"Yes we are. You throw like a bunny, didn't they teach you how to toss a grenade properly in the Security track?"

"Oops. I might have forgotten to pull the pin." When Nick peeked out between a gap in his fingers, she sighed, "Remember, Starfleet trained us that deadly force is the last resort. Blowing up their skimmer would have resulted in a lot of casualties."

"That must have been something covered in the Security track only." Nick let Judy give him a hand up, looking at the lit up lift button as he got to his feet. "What's on that floor?"

"I last saw Captain Bogo on this floor. Since you're here, do you think you can use the same way you located me to locate the Captain?"

"I'll do one better. If the jamming here is anything like Modimolle, I can work around it so that the Integrity can see all of us."

Nick's words, accompanied by his easy grin, made Judy dare to hope again. "Then the Integrity will be able to beam us all back up!"

"Am I hearing right, Carrots, do you finally want to go back to the Integrity?"

"Only because you're bringing Captain Bogo along." The lift started to slow as the numbers ticked towards to the floor Judy had chosen. "Do you have your phaser?"

"I can't juggle both a phaser and my PADD. You're a better shot than I am."

"Follow my lead then." Judy took cover on one side of the frame of the elevator doors, Nick taking the other side.

The first thing Judy noticed was the blare of alarms as the elevator doors cracked open. She was glad that her ear piece cut some of the sound. With a nod at Nick, she swung into the open doorway of the elevator first with her phaser raised to sweep the corridor.

She gestured for Nick to follow when she was sure the way was clear. They went from doorway to doorway before ending up at the huge conference room that Judy had last left Bogo and Plumi in.

It was empty - it was too much to hope that Bogo would still be here. The conference table again provided convenient cover for Judy and now Nick as they ducked under it to discuss what to do next, since the alarms weren't as strident in this room.

"Is this place good enough for what you need to do to the systems of this base?" Judy asked.

"I've had worse. There's no Draconian Secret Service lurking to make a drop on me, is there?"

"I'll watch out for them. Don't worry about Waran and his officers too."

"If only there was some way to bell those cats. How'd Waran get here? I thought this was Vector's secret lair."

"He said that Plumi had his uses. Oh, and he mentioned that your translator was off so he didn't know where you were."

"So tracking translators was also in his bag of tricks." Nick made a sound of disgust at his PADD. "We're too close to the jammer. It'll be easier to switch off the jammer than set up a local feed to override."

"Do we know where the jammer is?"

"Yes, and I also know where our fellow mice in this cat and mouse game are." He pointed out the other sets of dual blips that were an echo of Judy's, which the map was centered on. "That's Plumi and that's Bogo. If we shut off the jammer and get the Rat Pack together, we can get a signal out to the Integrity to get us all out of here. That'll make sure that both Vector and Waran don't get to them."

"There's two of them," said Judy, and hesitated over what she usually said next. Instead of suggesting they split up, she said, "I wouldn't know what to say to Plumi."

"And I can't do gunfights." His tail curled around her waist, a question without a voice, **_Together?_**

She leaned into the contact. **_Together._** "Where are we headed to, Wilde?"

"I'll walk you through it. Give me a tick to borrow another set of eyes." As Judy watched, Nick added AV from the base's security cameras to his already busy screen. She knew he was done when he put in his own earpiece. "That'll let us look around corners as we go. Ready, Fluff?"

"Born ready. Bring it on, Wilde."

"Back into the fray then."

They dashed back out into the corridor. With the live line between them, the sound of the alarms were filtered so that Judy could focus on the sound of Nick's voice. "Right and then straight ahead."

"And then right on until morning?"

"Let's hope the mission doesn't take that long, or Vector might catch up with two pesky Zootopians."

"I don't know about that, do you have a handy clock to throw at him?"

"Ha! You're welcome to audition for Captain Hook, I like my paws where they are. Take a right here, Carrots."

"I'm not hearing other bright ideas out of you, Wilde."

"When it comes to Vector? Run like hell. But since we're aiming for Plumi first, I have some ideas. I'll need your gun though."

Nick walked Judy through both the plan and the route that avoided the fights. By the time they neared the room Plumi was in, Judy had made her own additions to Nick's plan, particularly the bit about dealing with the Crurotarsi guards at Plumi's door.

The thing about being a small bunny was that Judy often had to calculate angles for an indirect way of getting to high places. That had an unexpected boost of improving her aim and throw when it came to attacks.

It also let her be sneaky. Glad that she had packed smoke grenades in addition to the explosive type she lobbed a smoke grenade now, bouncing it so that it skittered as if it were thrown from another corridor.

As Nick had warned the Crurotarsi simply shut their nostrils, having evolved to hold their breath underwater. Despite the low visibility, they set off through the smoke, like two hunters moving through river silt.

Once they were drawn away from the door, Nick and Judy dashed for it. Judy's experience watching Vector's soldiers open the door had let her identify the hinges as the weak spots. A few choice blasts, and the door listed enough to let a bunny and a fox through.

Plumi's small size would have let him skitter out through the same hole if he wanted, but he seemed too busy staring at Nick in shock. Nick had taken advantage of Plumi's shock to cross the conference room and shake Plumi's hand. "Senator Plumi! I'm chuffed to see you again!" Then Nick switched to Draconian, which Judy's translator churned as, "But I don't suppose you're basking in our presence, are you?"

Plumi was startled into replying. "Seeing Starfleet officers lingering in Vector's base is like seeing a Crurotarsi up a tree. Not impossible, but surely uncomfortable?" Compared to Nick's smooth speech, Judy's translator added pauses to Plumi's response. "What can I do for you today?"

"What can't you do?" said Nick in Standard. "I mean, you have already lied to us."

The pace of the translator sped up as Plumi babbled at length in his own tongue. "What do you mean? When have I lied?"

"The thing about Bellycrawlers is that they're legless, too tiny to be able to have long limbs, or too large to hold themselves off the ground for long. Which of these are you? After all, you run fast enough to walk on water."

"I don't run fast," Plumi protested.

"Is that so? Then you should be a pretty easy target. Ensign Hopps, shoot him please."

Nick and Judy had discussed this - Judy was aiming to miss though her shot may have been too close to Plumi's foot. Plumi dashed away on all fours, too fast for most to see how he ran. But he was still slower than a rabbit, who could see his belly didn't touch the ground.

Plumi seemed to know he had been had, peering at them cautiously from around the chair back he was gripping with all four paws. Nick adopted a casual slouch against another chair sized for Crurotarsi, elbow propped up against the seat. "We all know that you've been pretending to be someone else all this while. Or to use a local phrase, wearing others' skins. I'm pretty sure Vector has his doubts too."

"S'ken Waran told me specifically that you had your uses," Judy added, deliberately keeping up her usual cheer. "I wonder what would Vector think if I shared that comment with him?"

"Maybe instead of finding out, you ought to come with the officers from Starfleet that don't have violent reactions to being tricked." Nick tossed off a flippant wink to go with his casual tone.

Plumi unhooked his claws from where he'd sunk them into the chair back. "Where are the Starfleet officers going?"

"We're beaming back to our starship after we take care of some things," said Nick.

 

Even with Nick's pilfered security feed, it wasn't possible to avoid all the fighting on the way to the jammer. Especially when the shoot out involved the only route to the control room containing the jammer.

It made sense to Judy for Vector to have a choke point just before the control room, though logic might not be what the others would appreciate. Plumi looked like he wanted to skitter off again at the sound of gunfire, if it weren't for Nick gripping his shoulder tight enough that his claws were pricking the cloth.

So Judy kept her observations to herself as she examined the gun fight from their cover from the very end of the corridor. Waran and his men were further along, having taken cover along the branches along the corridor. At the other end, in front of another set of blast doors, was a group of Crurotarsi. Much like at the pier they had entrenched themselves well, and Waran and his men seemed disinclined to rush them. She checked the weapons that she could see - they were either guns, or explosives with more destructive power than what Judy had.

Maybe that was the problem. "Nick, you said that I needed five shots with a phaser to get through Crurotarsi skin. What about a grenade?"

"Might hurt if it got into someone's eye, might cause some broken ribs, but I think the Crurotarsi can take it. You actually thinking of pulling the pin this time, Hopps?"

"I don't like it, but Waran wants to get into the control room too. We need to give him a helping paw." She observed her angles and picked her grenade. "Duck."

Plumi actually did what he was told this time, or maybe it was Nick's firm paw on his shoulder that made him comply. Judy threw the grenade and also dove for cover.

Even with the experience of training that taught her to clap her paws over her ears, the roar of the explosion was loud. Judy had the luxury to let herself recover before she stuck her head back around the corner to see how Waran had taken advantage of the distraction.

She ducked back down when she saw the handheld launcher that one of Waran's soldiers was holding. With the living Crurotarsi shield scattered by Judy's grenade, Waran was going for the big guns.

The resulting explosion left a huge hole in the blast doors. Waran and the other soldiers that weren't involved in hand-to-hand fights clambered through the hole.

Judy glanced at Nick, who nodded his agreement. If they were going get to the jammer, now was the best time.

They dashed down the corridor, Judy in the lead. With Nick behind her she picked her route more carefully, skipping her habitual leaps. It meant more dodging, but they still made it to the control room in good time. Within, Waran and his soldiers were more concerned about the security controls and keeping an eye out for much larger Crurotarsi that the smaller Zootopians and Plumi went unnoticed.

Judy still led them under the cover beneath one of the consoles. She didn't know how long it would take to find the jammer, since she didn't know what it looked like. Nick did, but he was frowning at the floor.

"What now?" she prompted.

"Carrots, I think the jammer is under the floor."

Judy told herself she must have miscounted the floors on the way down. She looked around and found a hatch under the cover of another console. She pointed it out to Nick, who nodded.

Crossing the busy control room seemed to take longer than running down the corridor, especially when they had to keep to cover. Once at the hatch, Judy focused on getting it open. Nick left Plumi to join in. Judy held her tongue, because Plumi seemed just as intent as they were to keep out of Waran's way, and four paws did make the job much faster.

All the helping paws were useless when the hatch opened to reveal softly lapping water. Judy hadn't miscounted on the way down. The control room was on the same level as the docks Judy had arrived at, which meant that below the control room was water.

Nick had dug out his PADD and kept looking between it and the water. Judy knew it wasn't good when his next comment was wry. "Who'd have thought alien crocodiles would put their most important devices underwater? It's official - this mission is dead in the water. The jammer's a bust."

"How far away from the hatch is it?"

"About 1 metre, but that's not including depth."

"How about our distance from the nearest point where the Integrity can pick up our signal?"

"Judging from the strength of the jamming, we've got maybe about a kilometre before we have a chance. The roof's our best bet - " He paused as Judy started to shed her gear. "Carrots, whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it!"

"Between 1 metre under water, and 1km under fire, I think I'll take my chances."

"It's a metre away **_if_** it's stuck just under this floor! If it's placed further away, we have no idea how far it'll be from point to point. We're already in enough deep water, Carrots, without you risking your life diving without oxygen!"

Nick had given voice to the same concerns that had crossed Judy's mind. But the same logic that let Judy size up the shootout in front of the control room was the same logic that made Judy suggest trying for the jammer. There was no translator that would automatically convey Judy's way of approaching the same problem. It was up to Judy herself to make herself understood.

It was a daunting thought, between Plumi's curious attention and Nick's scowl that echoed the expression he'd shown in that first awful argument in Ilysia's garage. For Nick, she would try. "I know what you're saying about the underwater jammer. I trust that you know better than I do where it is. But I know the odds for going after Captain Bogo. They're not good either. He'll be as closely guarded as the control room was, maybe more since Vector knows Starfleet is attempting to get to him. We'll have to fight through that, without Waran's help. As crazy as it sounds, with the gear we have we're better equipped for disabling jammers than storming an enemy base. As an armory officer, that's how I feel we should handle this mission."

Nick's expression had slowly gone blank through Judy's spiel. For a moment she thought he would tell her to go her own way again, would walk away from her as he had before during this mission.

But it seemed that they had both decided to stop walking away from each other. "I don't know weapons," said Nick, as if reporting on the colour of the sky. "But I don't think that suggestion is good enough, Carrots. Do you even know know what the jammer looks like? If there's anyone that should be making that dive, it should be me."

It was the same light-hearted tone of voice he'd used when cajoling her to wear a bikini in their discussion of swimming and beaches. But Judy found she couldn't smile at the fond memory when she saw easily Nick had used it when suggesting he put his own life in danger. Then there was his neutral body language. Had he kept this same expression when he'd bantered with her in a sinking boat? Judy could imagine it now, Nick keeping his tone light and expression neutral so that McHorn would have kept right on patching up Fangmeyer. How long had Nick been shoving his feelings behind a mask? This entire mission? Even earlier? She'd been so focused on what Nick had done that she'd never considered what he felt.

What a fool she'd been.

Judy had been silent long enough that Nick had read her silence as consent. "Let me put this PADD aside, Hopps, and I should be ready for a dip. Skinny dipping will have to wait for another time, I'm not about to risk a roomful of Draconians seeing my junk - "

Nick might have rambled more as a verbal delay tactic, but Judy had let this charade go on for long enough. "There are things covered in the Security track only. I think diving without breathing gear counts as one of them."

"Here I was thinking that you didn't even know how to swim. You don't have to call dibs on all the action if it's not within your skill set. Do you even know what the jammer looks like?"

"You said it yourself, that's the type of heroics that I pull and you don't." She covered Nick's paws still wrapped around his PADD with hers. Only this action betrayed the fine tremble in his paws to her. "Nick, I need you to be what you were for me before, back when I was trapped in an underground cave. I need you to be the voice in the dark, letting me know I'm not alone. Can you do that for me again?"

Nick was gripping his PADD tight enough to leave claw marks. She held his gaze, waiting for that gentle reassurance she'd had the privilege of seeing so many times before in those eyes so green.

He finally nodded. "You've already proven how awful the dress uniform looks when it's sopping wet," he quipped. "Thanks for helping me avoid becoming a fashion disaster."

"I don't know, Wilde. I could still give you a hug after I get back to the surface." Judy shed the last of her gear. "Count on it when I get back, Nick."

"There's an awful lot of water in your fantasies, Hopps. What's next, me walking around in a wet white shirt?"

Unlike the interview with Tsiny and Higgins, Judy didn't manage to cover Nick's mouth fast enough. "I am so sorry that you had to hear that," she said to Plumi, whose translator was extremely unhelpful in this situation. "Nick, could you be serious for five minutes and tell me how to disable the jammer?"

Nick who had no sense of shame at all was unfazed. "Feel like pushing your luck?" He had picked up one of the explosive charges she'd piled next to him. "How about blowing up the jammer? If you could make a little baby explosion -"

"Please." She plucked the explosive out of his paw. "Since it's underwater, I can make a proper explosion that wouldn't even rock the floor. Just lead me to the right place."

"You're the boss. Ready when you are, Carrots."

"Heading down now. Keep an eye on Plumi too." With the right explosive charges in her paw, Judy slipped feet first into the water.

Water replaced air as Judy plunged in. The water was cool, but refreshing rather than chilly. It was like being in the submersible again, when she'd dived into the water to avoid the blaster fire. Despite the river silt eddying across Judy's line of sight when she opened her eyes, she could see electronic lights in colours she'd seen on Nick's Comms station laid out below her. Other that those lights and the square of light from the hatch, it was dark.

She popped her head out of the water. "I see the controls on the floor. I can swim to it," she said into the mic of her earpiece. She didn't dare to shout up, with Waran and his soldiers still around. They might have gone by unnoticed due to their size, but sound was another matter.

"Alright, Fluff." Nick was using the earpiece too to speak directly into her ear. "When you swim down, angle towards your right. I'll tell you if I need you to make correction."

"Got it. Keep broadcasting, Wilde." Judy took a deep breath, and dived again.

At first, she heard nothing but her own strokes in the water. Then her earpiece came to life. "You're on the right track. Just keep going."

She quickened her strokes at Nick's reassuring voice, which continued, "You've got me without my log of petty misdemeanors. But since you have to hold your breath laughing might be a terrible idea. You're a little over Carrots, to your left a bit."

While she adjusted, Nick said. "So. How about beaches for swimming? You're doing fine, you're directly over the jammer so just dive."

Judy dove. All the while Nick was listing beach locations. Just as Nick said " - and the beaches on Risa are supposed be the best - ", Judy's free paw slapped the control panel. She curled so gravity won over buoyancy and she was able to rest on the controls. That left her with both paws free to secure the explosive charges. She set off the timer, then adjusted herself to crouch on the controls.

"Though the dolphins swear by Zadar IV and you know what Carrots? This is long enough."

She leapt for the hatch. The water resistance cut her jumping height in half, but with the jump start she was covering the distance much faster than with just swimming.

"You can't hold your breath as long as a dolphin. It's time to surface, Carrots."

Judy knew that. Without her focus on the mission she could feel the slowly escaping bubbles from her mouth and how her lungs were burning.

"Hopps!"

She could see the light of the hatch, but she was losing momentum from her leap. She kicked the water.

"Judy!"

She burst through the surface, and finally allowed herself to gasp for air. At the sound Nick peered over the edge of the hatch.

"I got it," she managed, but she wasn't sure if Nick was listening when he'd reached down for her. She reached back, took hold of his paws and let him help her up.

Nick yanked her out of the water hard enough that they both fell onto land. Adrenaline had left Judy that she lay a sodden, soaked mess draped over Nick. As they lay there, they could feel the slight thump from the explosion beneath them.

"Who said the explosion wouldn't even rock the floor again?" Nick was grinning up at her as if it didn't matter they were in the middle of an enemy base. "That's false advertising, Fluff."

"I did make good on my promise to hug you as soon as I got out," Judy replied, and gave him a soggy squeeze. As he chuckled, she lifted her head to check on her surroundings. Her gear was in its pile and -

She bolted upright. "Where's Plumi?"

Waran and his soldiers dove for cover as shots rang out. Someone ducked under the console that Nick and Judy were hidden under. But it wasn't one of Waran's soldiers. It was one of the Crurotarsi that was leaning under the console. His jaws parted just enough to let sharp teeth fill their view.

Judy grabbed Nick's phaser and spun the settings before firing off five shots on 'Kill'.

The Crurotarsi jerked backwards as his shoulder burst into a bloody mess. That let Judy see Vector, recognisable by his gold chain, standing by her pile of gear. Beside him, his other soldiers not involved in the fight with Waran and his soldiers had their guns trained on Judy and Nick. Plumi was barely visible in Vector's shadow.

Vector made sure Judy was looking at him before deliberately stepping on her rifle to snap it. She clenched her paw in Nick's uniform in frustration, where Vector couldn't see. She couldn't repeat her first lucky shot without getting shot full of holes, and thanks to Plumi her gear was in Crurotarsi hands.

Vector waited as if he had all the time in the world for his own soldiers to finish their fight, and even start dragging the Squamata officers and their injured away. That included the first Crurotarsi that had tried to nab Nick and Judy from under the console, who was swearing weakly as he was pulled away.

Then Vector finally addressed Nick and Judy in Standard. "Since you've proved your mettle, I'll make a request - turn the jammer back on."

The explosion Judy had set off was slight enough that the Draconians must not have noticed there was no jammer to switch off. Nick ignored Judy's worried look to wriggle back to his feet. "Look, my fellow Starfleet officer and I are really winded from our dip in the water, we won't be able to make another dive - "

Nick's attempt to negotiate ground to a halt as the Crurotarsi unlocked the safety of their guns with audible clicks, typical of weapons that used bullets.

"I've already made my request. If you do not accept, the next time won't be a request."

"We're already tired from switching the jammer off the first time!" Nick protested. "We'll die before we even managed a repeat."

"Maybe if the choice was between drowning and switching off the jammer, you'll find enough incentive do it."

"We blew up the jammer." Judy cut in, getting to her feet to stand by Nick. "There is nothing to switch on. You can have one of your officers to confirm -"

Vector nodded to his soldiers. "Throw them down the hatch."

"I think not."

The sound of Bogo's voice had never been so welcome. Behind the Crurotarsi, Judy glimpsed Bogo, Higgins, McHorn, even Delgato along with what seemed like most of Security. It was with the assurance his Starfleet officers had his back that Bogo trained his phaser rifle on Vector. "Deal's off," Bogo told him curtly.

"You agreed to three days - "

"If you let my officers go. You were about to threaten my officers again, and I've had enough of that. Deal's **_off_**."

Vector let out a growl that boomed loud enough to fill the room. Bogo didn't even twitch.

"Now let my officers go," said Bogo. "Or I will take you up on your first offer to shoot you. Please, do give me the excuse."

Vector growled again, but he made a cutting gesture. His soldiers lowered their rifles.

Bogo hmphed. "Wilde, Hopps, with me. Integrity, we're heading back. Energise!"

The confusing jumble of Vector's control room was replaced by the familiar insides of the transporter room. Those who didn't often go on Away missions found the transition jarring, with the sudden jump from danger to safety leaving their senses reeling. Not so for Judy. The transporter room grounded her. The return to the transporter room was the first sign of mission accomplished, of letting down her guard. It was where she counted the successes, as she did now. She'd made it back to the sanctuary of the ship without injury. They'd destroyed the jammer, which let Captain Bogo call in reinforcements and escape from Draconis. And Nick - Nick was still right beside her. That was the sweetest success of all.

She had to share that moment with Nick. Had to leap at him and throw her arms around his neck to hold him close. He hugged her right back, letting her momentum spin them around and leave them dizzy and laughing.

Bogo stepped out of their way before they bumped into him. "Wilde, Hopps, I'd appreciate if you kept your celebrations private. If you start making out on the transporter pad, I'm beaming you back onto Draconis."

Nick dipped Judy at the end of their next turn. "Sir, are you giving me permission to ravish Ensign Hopps if we take this to my quarters?"

Amidst the wolf whistles from the rest of the team filing out of the transporter room, Bogo huffed his displeasure. "What part of **_private_** don't you understand, Lieutenant?"

Judy reached up to cup Nick's face and turn his attention back to her. "Hopps going in for the kill!" Delgato hooted as he passed.

Judy was far more interested in the way Nick was smiling down at her. "Thank you," she told him.

Nick's voice, with its warmth, was fast becoming the best touchstone to let her know when all was well. She knew the mission was over when he replied, "You're welcome, Carrots."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the conclusion of the mission, that was a roller coaster to write.
> 
> Conversation coda? Conversation coda. The shippyness needs two weeks to brew. Comments during the brewing process would be tremendously helpful.


	8. i'll sing it one last time for you

Nick was as happy as a clam. He was back on the ship, where no camouflaged Draconians were waiting for him. He had returned from an Away mission with all his extremities - fingers, toes and most importantly his head. He was even getting random crew members who didn't know him congratulating him on a job well done. He could see how Judy had gotten used to all this.

Which made him extra confident when he met Finnick at the still in the deepest parts of a starship's inner workings, half hidden by mysterious tubes and stacked boxes, some empty, some not. "Finn!" He threw himself into the extra deckchair that Finnick kept around for no good reason, before aiming finger guns at his bud. "Hit me with your best shot."

Finnick, already making a headstart on drinks for the week, eyed Nick over his glass. "If that's leading up to a pun on stunning, Wilde, I swear to God I will shoot you."

"No, no. I want the best shot of what you have in the still." Nick pretended to browse the containers in the still. "I want - "

Finnick actually threw out an arm, when Nick was still seated in his chair and was nowhere near the batch he was pointing at. "No."

"C'mon, you've been saving that for a special occasion! It doesn't get more special than your old pal making it off Draconis."

"So you could continue to be a pain in my ass? The kind most mammals would have seen the doctor about?"

"You know, to hear you talk about your best bud this way really hurts my heart." Nick pretended to clutch his chest. "Obviously the only way you can make it up to me is to give me your best gin. Medically certified, I was once a doctor you know."

"Wearing medic blues and waving a fake certificate doesn't make you a doctor."

"Shame, you made an awesome nurse."

Since the spare boxes made for shitty camouflage, Nick thought Finnick kept them around so he could thump his glass on them, as he did now. " ** _I thought we agreed not to talk about it ever again._** "

"Who, me? I'm not the one who brought up the Medical scam." Nick kicked back in his chair, making sure to keep himself the very picture of nonchalence. "Buuuuuuut for the cheap cheap price of your best gin, I might be convinced to let it flit out of my mind."

"That's the Nick I work with," Finnick admitted.

"You know it. Now about that drink -"

Finnick's grin was fierce. "How about this side of never, Wilde?"

"Oh no, you've gone and done it. Don't make me use the photo of you in the elephant onesie."

"Do that, and I'll transport your dumb ass back to Draconis. I've got the coordinates for a dunk in the river all ready to go."

Nick held up his paws in surrender. "That's the Finnick I work with. You drive even harder bargains than Ilysia."

"You'd coax the last strand of fur off us if we didn't." Despite his gruff words, Finnick had a platter of potato wedges already cooling on a box set strategically between the two chairs. Nick tossed a wedge into his mouth - not greasy enough, but it had a nice balance between a crunchy outside and a squishy inside.

"Is there a show to go with this?" Nick wondered, as he helped himself to another wedge and Finnick finally put a glass of regular moonshine next to the platter.

"Benji's got a feed of the Great Draconian Dressing Down going on. Bogo's doing a great job tearing Rindja a new one, considering he's no chomper. I heard your fellow runaway Plumi made a guest appearance."

Nick was very glad that he had a glass of moonshine to swig from. The burn of alcohol was a good replacement for the bitterness at the mention of the Draconian who played him out. "Pass. I've spent my whole shift reading Draconian, I don't want any more of the language during my break. The entire language is starting to look like Ilysia rolled over in ink and wriggled really hard."

"You're expecting good handwriting from aliens with no hands?" Finnick pointed out.

A new voice piped up, "How do Draconians write anyway?"

Nick recognised the voice that had posed the last question. He made sure his moonshine was in full view as he turned a smirk on Judy. "Carrots! Never thought I'd see you in the dodgy depths of the ship. Otterton's wine wasn't cutting it anymore?"

"I'd much rather drink myself blind than look at my blank report." She attempted to swipe Nick's drink as she passed, prompting him to hold it out of her reach.

"Hopps hasn't done her homework? Attempting to drink illicit booze? Help us all Hopps has been replaced by a pod person!"

Finnick was more interested in the reference to his drinks. "Who said you'd drink yourself blind here?"

Flustered, Judy stopped reaching for Nick's drink, which allowed Nick to hug it to his chest as he told Finnick, "Carrots here seems to think your drinks are a health hazard. Which makes her attempt to drink here extra suspicious."

"I - I just meant I didn't know how much alcohol you had in your drinks!"

"That so? Then try it for yourself." As Finnick busied himself at the still, Judy shot Nick an annoyed look. Nick would have taken an obnoxious guzzle of his drink if Finnick hadn't returned with Judy's drink.

"You're giving her the best stuff!"

"You got a problem with that, Wilde?" Finnick challenged as he handed Judy the best gin he had in the still.

"No, no of course not. You've always liked her better, even though we've been hustling together for years - "

"Because you're an annoying pissbaby who's too busy being butt-hurt to have any business sense right now. So whaddya think, Hopps? Reckon we could put Otterton out of business?"

"I don't think asking me is fair," Judy muttered, but she took a sip of the drink that Finnick had handed her. Her eyes widened a little. "This - this is really good!"

"Heh. We'll make a customer out of you, Hopps. Then I'll be able to tell Otterton to suck it! Speaking of that, I gotta make it to the viewing party before Otterton thinks he's the only bartender in town. Ciao."

He darted under a tarp and re-emerged pushing a cart of clanking bottles, cackling all the while as he left.

"I feel I've been tricked into picking a side," Judy said as she watched Finnick go.

"Well, if you're having a crisis of conscience I could help you take that off your paws - "

"You already have your own drink, Wilde."

"Who was trying to get a bit of my drink earlier? I'll share mine if you share yours."

She didn't even bother hiding her incredulous look, with one eyebrow raised to almost comic proportions. But she still traded glasses with Nick to take a cautious sip.

He hid his smirk in her glass as she spluttered. Finnick had made the gin smooth, the complete opposite of his usual moonshine that went down like a firecracker, much like its maker. It was easy for Nick to go from the moonshine to the gin. For Judy, not so much on the opposite.

"Still got your lungs, Fluff?"

She finally managed words, "You tricked me!"

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart. And I'm not the liar, blame Finnick and his false advertising."

"He did do a good job with the gin," she countered, and held out her paw for her glass.

They swapped drinks again. Nick chased the smoothness of the gin away with more moonshine when Judy sat down in the other deckchair. Why did Finnick have to leave? Drinks with his buddy were quiet. Drinks with Judy, well. The last time he had drinks with Judy, it was something much like this.

Including the part where she should be anywhere else but here. "Shouldn't you be at the Great Dressing Down, Hopps? You were part of the diplomatic team."

"I was. But I don't care much for what happens to Rindja and the others. The Captain - the Captain says he doesn't want the Integrity involved in future negotiations. There are other ships that can represent the Federation."

"Someone finally read my 2 out of 5 stars review. Think we can get Bogo to leave one too?"

Judy was scowling at her drink as if she hadn't been singing its praises earlier. Nick knew something was up when he saw her claws, usually managed so carefully, scrape against her glass.

"Or did you want to leave the review?" He prompted. He knew that wasn't it when she curled her fingers such that her claws were hidden in her fists. "It's a lot easier than writing a report - "

"None of this would have happened if Starfleet had listened to you." Even though she'd said it mostly to her glass, Nick still caught her fierce whisper. "You knew what the Draconians were like. They should have listened."

"If they'd listened to me, I wouldn't have been attached to the Away team. Then I wouldn't have been able to sweep in like the dashing hero I am to your rescue, wouldn't that be a pity?"

Usually Judy would have challenged him on who exactly was doing the rescuing. Instead, she reached out to brush her fingers with such tenderness against the side of his face, a gentle breeze to the blazing sun of her gaze. "I'll listen to you, even when no one else will."

Judy and her grand gestures that shook him down to the core. Play it smooth Wilde. It wasn't as if this bunny hadn't made herself matter more than anything else.

Nick still made a valiant attempt. "Perfect, because I want to be absolutely certain you know I've got your birthday present right here! Am I not the best?"

He drew smug satisfaction from the irritation that seeped into her gaze, even going to the extent of humming as he put aside his drink to rummage in the box he'd hid her present in. Purely a happy coincidence - he'd actually hidden the present at the still because he had counted on it as the last place on the ship she'd ever go to. The past Ensign Hopps would have seen herself above all things dodgy. How things had changed. How he himself had changed, that what he was about to give Judy had no punchline to go with it.

Judy had her doubts still, as she watched him dig through the box. "Let me guess, it's a bikini," she deadpanned. When Nick finally found the box and showed her exactly how large it was, she amended, "Several bikinis."

"One for every day in the year," he suggested as he lugged the box over. He was glad when he was able to put the box down in her lap.

Judy started at the weight. "What, is it made of **_metal_**?"

Nick perched on the edge of Judy's deckchair, facing her. "Hey, I thought you of all people would appreciate Princess Leia Eargana."

"I appreciate Princess Leia for her character, not her metal bikini. I'm not as shallow as you are, Wilde."

"Ouch. You're going to be really sorry you said that once you see what I got you."

He'd left her present disassembled so it was easier to hide. As an armoury officer, Judy recognised the pieces as soon as she opened the box. "You - you got me a new rifle."

She trailed her fingers over the length of the barrel, lingering over the bumps of the rifle's sight. She curled her paw around the grip, one finger resting on the trigger as she confirmed that it had been sized exactly for her.

Then she smirked at Nick and said in her sweetest tones. "Please tell me you didn't replicate this yourself."

"Fluff! To doubt my intentions!"

"I'd have taken this at face value, Wilde, if I wanted to run the risk of being blown up when I assembled this. You have any idea how much explosive power there is in a single rifle clip?"

Nick raised his paws in mock surrender. "You got me. 70% of it is delivery from Starfleet, rifle for a rabbit. The other 30% are optional add ons from Finnick and yours truly."

"Aww, how sweet of the fox," she wheedled in tones of syrup. "10 out of 10 for effort, though that's only for 30% of a birthday present."

"Oh is that how it is? Are we giving scores for this too? Because you're about to get bottom marks in your thanks - "

She'd reached out to curl her fingers in his collar and tug him over for a kiss. She tasted of juniper and citrus, the bracing notes of pine and zest. Finnick's gin on its own had never tasted so good.

"9 out of 10 - " Nick's attempt to give a grade trailed off when he saw Judy’s expression had gentled.

"This rifle will keep me safe during missions. **_You_** have done so much to keep me safe during missions."

"Are you sure you're talking to the right fox? That doesn't sound like a Communications thing."

She didn't take the bait and let him downplay this. "I've said it before - you made it possible for me to call down the entire ship if I needed to. This mission you've done so much that you usually avoid. You **_entered an enemy base_**. All that you've done to keep me safe, do - do you get tired of doing that?"

"I don't know, Fluff," He kept his voice light and teasing. "I'm not the one shooting Draconians at point blank. You keep yourself plenty safe."

"Not as safe as you think I'd be on the Integrity." She set the box aside so she could scooch closer to Nick. "I know it didn't seem like I was listening when you told me to go back to the ship during the mission. But I'm listening now. You can tell me what you really think, Nick."

"Do I feel being shipside is better? Yes, yes I do. It's not a great big secret that I think Away missions would send any sane mammal running in the other direction, Carrots. You just have a higher tolerance for them than I do."

"I could stay shipside. There are armory positions dealing only with starship mounted weapons. I could request for a transfer."

"Trading in your rifle for bigger guns? Well you'll certainly have a blast."

"I'm more interested to know if it'll ease your worry, dumb fox."

He'd previously thought that he had no defences left when it came to Judy, but she kept proving him wrong by dismantling barriers he hadn't even known he had. And she kept going as if she didn't realise, as she was now.

"I saw how tough it was to be the voice in the dark for me on this mission. On **_any_** mission. And I don't quite know what to do when it comes to you, but I thought that this was something I could try, and I do have the right training for this, and our shifts might actually start to overlap - "

She was startled into silence by the finger he pressed against her mouth.

"I appreciate the thought, Carrots." No wonder they called it cloying emotion, with how thick his voice had gone despite his best efforts. "But you don't have to change for me."

"It's OK - "

He shushed her. "No no no, you said you were going to listen to me even when no one else would. So please. Let me explain."

She opened her mouth, thought better of it, then shut it again. Satisfied she wasn't going to speak, he drew back his paw.

"The thing about the fancy schmancy Starfleet ads for Comms, Carrots, is that they're about the new people you'll meet and the languages you'll learn. What they don't show is that Comms officers listen to everything. Hails from other ships, chatter from Away teams, pings from planets and space stations... It's always shifting. Listen to it as long as I have without any constant, it becomes noise. Until there was you."

The humming of the starship engine caught Nick's attention then. He kept an eye on the nearest whirling component just in case. "When I heard your voice on the line the second time, I thought it was just a blip. Away teams don't make it back. But you were on the other end of the line a third time. A fourth. So many times, until the number was unimportant. Among the noise, there was you." He chuckled to himself. "So your obsession with Away missions is good for something - "

He was interrupted by Judy's paw cupping the side of his face, then they were kissing hard enough that it seemed their bodies minds souls were intertwined with each other. Nick still wanted more, his arms crushing her to him and his tail curling around her waist. Judy didn't seem to mind, keeping up the kiss even when Nick's teeth grazed her lips in the groan she'd drawn from him.

It was only when they broke apart for air that Nick could start stumbling his way to coherence. "With how you were trying to break the scale, I think I forgot my point."

"I think I get it," said Judy. It wasn't fair how she wasn't disorientated by the kiss. "If it wasn't for Away missions, we wouldn't have known each other better. I might have kept thinking you were a dodgy fox."

"Excuse you, I am still a dodgy fox. Did you forget we're making out at a moonshine still?" As blush coloured the inside of Judy's ears, Nick continued. "So if that still bothers you - "

"Not just a dodgy fox then. Nick, you're so much more than that. If you can cope with my Away missions, I can cope with your wheeling and dealing."

"Time will prove that point, Fluff." It would be easiest to kiss Judy then rather than dwell on this point, but something had just occurred to Nick. "If you're thinking of proving your point by breaking the smooching scale, I think you should know Finnick has cameras all over the still in case someone helps themselves to a free drink."

"Then I'll have evidence for what I'm going to say," said Judy, her strong voice at odds with her mortified expression. "I know we've had our moments of not being able to cope. This mission was a terrible, **_horrible_** example of what happens when we can't cope. That's why what I said about transferring isn't a one time offer. If you ever feel my voice on the line isn't worth your peace of mind, you can tell me."

"So wheedling confessions from me is going to be a thing? Mercy, Hopps, keep this up and we'll be setting new terms."

"Is that why you asked for more time for your half of the terms?" Denied the option of frantic make-outs, Judy had settled for cradling Nick's muzzle in both paws. "Don't - don't think of it as a confession, Nick. Think of it as helping me to understand the terms of our own agreement. You know how terrible I am at diplomacy, and this is a negotiation I don't want to get wrong. I really want to do something for you, you dumb fox."

"Fluff, admitting a weakness." He pressed his nose against her cheek and breathed in the scent of bunny. "There are days when I wonder if I'm dreaming."

"As Security, I'm pretty sure I could punch you awake." Her playful tone made for an interesting counterpart to how she was leaning into the press of his muzzle.

Nick could do playful. "Ouch. I take that back, Hopps is as violent as ever, all is right in the universe. Is this payback for the bikini comment? Is that what this is?"

"I don't know, Wilde. How terrible is this bikini going to be?"

"I'm sure I could make an extremely tasteful bikini... if I actually had your measurements."

"I can't tell you something I don't know. If only there was a fox willing to help me."

Nick nearly tipped Judy out of his lap, before groping for his drink and downing it at one go. The burn of the moonshine was better than Judy's fists in proving he wasn't dreaming. "I think that's a discussion that needs to be taken elsewhere."

Judy's paw in his free paw drew a warmth that had nothing to do with the alcohol. "I'll go where you need me to, Nick. You're stuck with me."

He squeezed her paw. "How about that, Judy. You took the words right out of my mouth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, dear readers, for all the encouragement for this verse. What started as a knee jerk one-shot has turned into a multi-chapter fic that was sometimes one of the bright spots in my day. I hope you had as much joy reading it as I had writing it.
> 
> This is the last story I have planned in this verse. Those who have been commenting know that I'm swayable with kudos and comments, but I'm not making any promises. I will go back to working on the [Wilde Spirit Autumn fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8438674), and I have two (!!) more universes planned. So keep an eye out for these!
> 
> A bonus for those who have been following this verse: [here's the Spotify playlist for all the songs for this verse](https://play.spotify.com/user/raynoskai/playlist/4TR90LdIyLQkIzOveEpVQw). You can listen along as you read - starting from Waiting All Night, chapters are titled after lyrics of the song they are based on.
> 
> For those who don't have Spotify, this is the playlist. Happy listening!  
> 


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